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Fair Use: Copyright, Exceptions & Limitations
Copyright, Exceptions and Limitations in the European Knowledge Community
Call from European documentary filmmakers addressed to the European Commission with reference to the Green Paper on copyright in the knowledge economy
The European Commission invites stakeholders' views on the Green Paper concerning copyright, exceptions and limitations. The Commission promotes the free movement of knowledge and innovation as the "Fifth Freedom" in the single market. The Green Paper takes into account the perspective of publishers, libraries, educational establishments, museums, archives, researchers, people with a disability and the public at large. The Green Paper does not mention documentary film and its makers.
We would like to point out the following:
Documentary filmmakers are an important and indispensable group of professionals in the European knowledge community. Documentary film in Europe has always been an important contributor to knowledge, debate and cultural identity. It therefore deserves to be included in any discussion of exceptions and limitations to copyright.
New technologies and international cooperation provide challenges that reach beyond current practices. Therefore, broader and more flexible approaches to copyright and exceptions are needed. The American approach of Fair Use in documentary practice1 may serve as an example. Fair use offers general principles and limitations, with creative communities establishing traditions of use within them.
In response to the Green Paper's question about encouragement or guidelines for contracts between rights holders and users we say that contracts facilitate market processes generally, but are inappropriate in the area of limitations and exceptions, which occur outside market processes. Creators should be free to use limitations and exceptions as they understand their rights without turning to rights holders.
With reference to making certain categories of exceptions mandatory we say that in Europe, documentary filmmakers badly need more uniformity across national boundaries in rights issues. At the same time, a more flexible regime in exceptions is necessary for European filmmakers to be able to practice their profession in a European context.
Flexible exceptions and limitations should be extended to all kinds of knowledge producers and not just to makers of user-generated content, as users are not separated from creators and neither are limited to one type of market place. Creative people are often using precisely the same techniques and distribution outlets, whether they are amateurs, artists or documentary filmmakers. Drawing a distinction between user-generated content and content created within defined creative communities is not a helpful policy approach.
We call for the Commission to
- include documentary filmmakers and their practices in their discussion on copyrights and exceptions in the European knowledge economy;
- investigate a different approach to limitations and exceptions modeled on the U.S. fair use doctrine;
- create a more flexible model for exceptions and limitation on copyrights, in order to facilitate documentary filmmakers in Europe to maintain their tradition and continue to contribute to knowledge, art, identity and debate in Europe.
The European Initiative for the Freedom of Expression in Documentaries
Marijke Rawie, (+31 6 539 317 17), expertdocs@xs4all.nl
Willemien Sanders, (+31 6 444 622 54), Willemien.Sanders@let.uu.nl
This Call to the European Commission to be part of the discussion about Copyright, Exceptions and Limitations in the European Knowledge Community, is signed (in alphabetical order) by Documentary Representatives of the following documentary institutions in Europe:
- AG DOK, Arbeitsgemeinschaft DokumentarFilm, Association of Documentary makers, Germany
- ASTERFEST, Documentary Festival, Macedonia
- AVRO, Public Broadcaster, Netherlands
- CESKA TELEVIZE, Public Broadcaster, Czech Republic
- COPRO, Co-Production Forum Tel Aviv, Israel
- DISCOVERY CAMPUS MASTERSCHOOL, Munchen, Germany
- DOK LEIPZIG, Documentary Festival, Leipzig, Germany
- DOCS BARCELONA, Documentary Festival and Public Pitching Forum, Spain
- EAST EUROPEAN COPRODUCTION FORUM, Czech Republic
- EBU DOCUMENTARY GROUP, meeting of Documentary Commissioning Editors in Public Broadcasting Companies in Europe, Geneva, Switzerland
- EDN, European Documentary Network, Copenhagen, Denmark
- EMA DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL, Brussels, Belgium
- ERT, Public Broadcaster, Greece
- EX ORIENTE, Eastern European Pitching Training, Czech Republic
- FRANCE 3, Public Broadcaster, France
- IDFA, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, Netherlands
- INSTITUTE FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM IDF, Prague, Czech Republic
- IRA, Public Broadcaster, Israel
- KRAKOW FESTIVAL AND PITCHING FORUM, Poland
- MDR, Public Broadcaster, Germany
- NFF, Netherlands Film Festival Utrecht, Netherlands
- NRK, Public Broadcaster, Norway
- ORF, Public Broadcaster, Austria
- PORTUGUESE DOCUMENTARY ASSOCIATION, Portugal
- RTBF, French speaking Public Broadcaster, Belgium
- RTE, Public Broadcaster, Ireland
- SCOTTISH DOCUMENTARY INSTITUTE, Scotland
- SVT, Public Broadcaster, Sweden
- TG4, Gaelic Speaking Public Broadcaster, Ireland
- TSR, French Speaking Public Broadcaster, Switzerland
- USPA, Union Syndicale des Producteurs Audiovisuels, France
- VPRO, Public Broadcaster, Netherlands
- YLE, Public Broadcaster, Finland
- WDR, Public Broadcaster, Germany
- ZDF, Public Broadcaster, Germany
- ZDF/ARTE, Public Broadcaster, Germany
These representatives have the following documentary functions: Director of IDFA, Director of EDN, Chairman of EBU Doc Group, Director of documentary festivals, Director of Pitching Forums, Chairman of National Documentary Associations, Head of Documentary Departments in Public Braodcasting, Commissiong Editors for Documentaries in Public Broadcasting, Documentary Festival Programmers, Documentary Distributors and Salesagents, Documentary Filmmakers, Documentary Producers, Documentary Researchers, International Documentary Consultants, Journalists and University Researchers.
Contact Address:
European Initiative for the Freedom of Expression in Documentaries
ExpertDocs
Mrs. Marijke Rawie
Bloemgracht 66
1015 TL Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Fon: +31 20 623 55 33
Mobile: +31 6 53931717
expertdocs@xs4all.nl
