WRITTEN QUESTION E-0941/03

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(26 March 2003)

Subject: Community regulations on the use of televisions in hotel rooms

Televisions in hotel rooms have become a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of hoteliers in various European countries.

Uncertainty reigns with regard to their dispute with copyright bodies, which are demanding fees for television sets in hotel rooms. Hoteliers are therefore calling for a regulation of a general nature for the whole EU to clarify this issue, since the current provisions contain grey areas, meaning that the courts have been handing down contradictory rulings.

Does the Commission believe that it should take the initiative here and put forward Community legislation eliminating the grey areas and regulating the issue, in order to help give the courts a concrete idea of the legislation to be applied without distinction between Member States?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2003)

The honourable Member has raised the question of the payment of fees to the holders of intellectual property rights for the use by hoteliers of their works and other copyrighted items when they are broadcast to television sets in hotel rooms.

With specific regard to the communication to the public of protected works and other items, the Commission would point out to the honourable Member that there is already Community legislation on the matter, which is in fact based on international legal rules(1).

Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC(2) harmonises, for the benefit of authors, the exclusive right to authorise or prohibit any communication to the public of their works, by wire or wireless means. Furthermore, Article 8(2) of Directive 92/100/EEC(3) states that

an equitable remuneration must be paid by the user if a phonogram published for commercial purposes is used for any communication to the public. The word user also includes those who communicate to the public a broadcast programme in a place open to the public. In practical terms, this means that they must pay an equitable remuneration if they use phonograms to communicate a television or radio programme or if they themselves communicate a phonogram directly to an audience. It is for this reason that a merchant, if he provides such a programme at his place of business, must pay the equitable remuneration to the performers and producers of phonograms and must also apply to the authors for a performing licence (or pay an equitable remuneration in cases where this is required by national law). This does not affect any intellectual property rights for which a fee has already been paid by the radio or television body.

Community legislation thus already covers the bulk of the topics mentioned in the honourable Member's question. The Commission does not at the moment have sufficient grounds to suggest that additional legislation on the matter is needed to ensure the proper operation of internal market.

(1) Article 11bis of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1971) and Article 12 of the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations (1961).

(2) Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society (OJ L 167, 22.6.2001, p. 10). This Directive had to be transposed by 22 December 2002.

(3) Council Directive 92/100/EEC of 19 November 1992 on rental right and lending right and on certain rights related to copyright in the field of intellectual property (OJ L 346, 27.11.1992, p. 61).