WRITTEN QUESTION E-0181/02 by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Commission's answers concerning pirated compact discs (CDs).
Date: 2002-02-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, Greece, audiovisual piracy, data collection, economic consequence, financial loss, intellectual property, record, statistics

4.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 160 E/193

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(14 March 2002)

The Commission is aware of the new toxicological studies on cyclobutanones. Upon request of the
Commission, the authors have submitted their report on these studies to the Scientific Committee on Food.

On 8 August 2001, the Commission adopted a Communication on food irradiation addressed to the
Parliament and the Council in order to launch an open debate about the foods which should be authorised
for treatment by ionising radiation. The above-mentioned report on cyclobutanones was finalised in
November 2001. The Commission will wait for the evaluation of the Scientific Committee on Food and for
the conclusion of the debate following its Communication before considering any further action.

Information about food irradiation is available on the following web site of DG Health and Consumer
Protection of the European Commission: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sfp/sfp_index_en.html.

(2002/C 160 E/240)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0181/02

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 February 2002)

Subject: Commission’s answers concerning pirated compact discs (CDs)

In his answer of 18 December 2001 to my question (E-3094/01) (1) concerning counterfeit compact discs,
Commissioner Bolkestein provided some information about the Commission’s activities in this respect but
did not give any figures on the extent of piracy in Greece and the other Member States, as I had requested.
I was, therefore, astonished to find that the Commission had provided detailed figures in response to a
question on exactly the same subject by my distinguished colleague, Mrs Myrsini Zorba (H-0867/01) (2).

I feel compelled, therefore, to reiterate my question and ask the Commission what data it has on CD piracy
in Greece and the other 14 Member States, and whether the Greek authorities have informed the
Commission of the extent of the problem. Why exactly did the Commission decide not to include the
figures referred to in its answer to Mrs Zorba in its answer to this author’s question?

(1) OJ C 93 E, 18.4.2002, p. 216.
(2) Written answer of 11.12.2001.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(13 March 2002)

Compact Disc (CD) piracy is a matter of concern for the Commission and an issue to which it is paying
particular attention. Mrs Zorba’s oral question asked in a general way for the amount of revenue lost in the
Union as a whole due to intellectual property theft. In its answer the Commission merely referred to
figures given by the International Chamber of Commerce for worldwide counterfeiting and piracy which
date from 1997 (5-7 % of world commerce at a cost of € 200 C € 300 billion and 200 000 jobs per year).
The Commission gave an estimate concerning the Internal Market as a whole (a loss of between € 400 and
€ 800 million).

At present the Commission does not have what it considers to be verifiable nor neutral figures at its
disposal on a Member State basis. However, according to the latest figures on 2000 provided by the music
industry on the percentage of sales that pirated CDs represent: in Greece, domestic piracy of CD’s amounts
to 50 % of sales; in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland, it accounts for 10-25 % of sales and in the
other Member States it stands at less than 10 %.

C 160 E/194

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

The Commission confirms that it is aware of the problem of CD piracy in Greece and has been in regular
contact with all Member States at a working level on this issue.

According to information received from the Greek authorities, they also thus far use the information
supplied by the special Economic Crime Squad and industry.

Currently a study is being undertaken for the Commission on the establishment of a methodology for
collecting, analysing and comparing data on counterfeiting and piracy. This study is of particular
importance for the obtention of more reliable figures. Indeed, because CD piracy is an illegal activity it is
more difficult to collate figures than for any licit business. If a suitable methodology is agreed upon, and
put into general practice, all concerned will be in a better position to compare realistic and equivalent
statistics on an Community wide or individual Member State basis. The results of this study are expected in
June 2002.

Moreover the Commission is also preparing a proposal for a Directive on the enforcement of intellectual
property rights which should also reinforce the means of combating piracy and counterfeiting.

(2002/C 160 E/241)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0182/02

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Collective rights management and intellectual property

(6 February 2002)

Broadcasting by the media of the works of composers and authors without payment of royalties has,
understandably, caused annoyance and raised a number of issues. The European Grouping of Societies of
Authors and Composers (GESAC) has drawn up a code of conduct which it has submitted to the
Commission.

Can the Commission provide me with a copy of this code? What is its view of the code? Does the
Commission have details of the tariffs requested by the societies responsible for the collective management
of composers’ and authors’ rights for radio and television broadcasting of their works in each Member
State of the Union?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(18 March 2002)

The Honourable Member’s question concerns collective management bodies and certain aspects of the
collective management of copyright and related rights in Europe. The Commission would like to offer the
following information in response.

The broadcasting of copyright works is subject to the exclusive right of authors to communicate their
works to the public, as harmonised by Directive 2001/29/EC of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of
certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society (1), which must be transposed by
22 December 2002.

The right of communication to the public is generally administered by collecting societies, which have also
set up a network of agreements in order to distribute collected rights on their respective territories on
behalf of foreign rightholders.

The level of tariffs requested may differ according to the collecting societies based in the different Member
States. In addition, neither the activities of collecting societies, nor collective management as such, are
harmonised at Community level. Nor have any specific studies been conducted into the price levels of
licences granted by collecting societies.