Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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| CALL FOR EVIDENCE  FOR AN INITIATIVE (without an impact assessment) | |
| This document aims to inform the public and stakeholders about the Commission's work, so they can provide feedback and participate effectively in consultation activities.  We ask these groups to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions, and to give us any relevant information they may have.   You should finalise this document at the earliest stages of the preparatory process, so that best use can be made of feedback from stakeholders. | |
| Title of the initiative | Combating online piracy of live content |
| Lead DG – responsible unit | DG CONNECT – Unit I.2 |
| Likely Type of initiative | Commission Recommendation |
| Indicative Timing | Q2 2023 |
| Additional Information | - |
| This document is for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by this document, including its timing, are subject to change. | |

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| A. Political context, problem definition and subsidiarity check |
| Political context |
| As announced in the 2023 Commission work programme, the Commission will adopt a Recommendation on piracy of live content offering a toolbox to combat the illegal streaming of live events, in particular sports events.  This non-legislative initiative will include recommendations concerning live content in accordance with the DSA, which provides for general measures to counter illegal content online.  The Recommendation follows up on the European Parliament resolution on challenges of sports events organisers in the digital environment, adopted on 19 May 2021.  The Commission launched preparatory work following the declaration issued during the negotiations of Directive 2019/790/EU on copyright in the digital single market, stating that ‘it will assess the challenges of sports event organisers in the digital environment, in particular issues related to the illegal online transmissions of sport broadcasts’. In this context the Commission tasked the European Audiovisual Observatory with carrying out a mapping study on existing remedies against online piracy of sports content, which was published in December 2021. In the IP action plan and the media and audiovisual action plan, the Commission highlighted the need to step up efforts to address piracy. |
| Problem the initiative aims to tackle |
| The initiative aims at identifying the best available means in Union law to help broadcasters and live events organisers, including sports event organisers, to prevent online piracy, i.e. unauthorised retransmissions of broadcasts of live events. Such unauthorised retransmissions are generally based on illicit capture of the broadcast signal. They can cause significant economic harm to broadcasting organisations and, depending on the nature of the live event, to the creative and sport sectors, resulting in significant revenue losses. This is particularly the case for time-sensitive live transmissions (e.g. football matches), which lose most of their value once the event finishes.  The infrastructure used for unauthorised retransmissions of live events is constantly evolving and is becoming increasingly sophisticated, based on websites disseminating streams or on IPTV solutions. At EU level, 3.6% of the population is engaged in unauthorised IPTV consumption, generating nearly EUR 1 billion in unlawful revenue accrued by providers of illegal IPTV [1](#footnote3) .  It is necessary to identify effective solutions, in accordance with EU law, to promptly remove or block access to unauthorised retransmissions, taking due account of the nature of the content. The events organiser (e.g. a sport organisation) is not recognised as such as a rightholder under Union copyright law. However, as organiser of these events on its premises it has the right to allow their filming, broadcast, or online transmission. This right may be granted exclusively to a given broadcasting organisation [2](#footnote4) . Depending on the nature of the content, the transmission of these live events may also infringe the rights granted under EU law to broadcasting organisations, film producers, performers and authors (e.g. in the case of music or artistic works included in a broadcast). Sports event organisers are also granted specific protection under national law in certain Member States [3](#footnote5) .  Various remedies against the unauthorised retransmissions of content are already provided for in the EU legislation. In particular, the recently adopted DSA constitutes a robust general framework to counter illegal content online. It harmonises the rules on notice and action mechanisms, and will streamline the processing of notices sent to providers of hosting services to remove unauthorised retransmissions of live events.  Furthermore, Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society (Infosoc Directive) and Directive 2004/48/EC on enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRED) harmonise injunctions which rightholders can request against infringers or intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to stream unauthorised content. Injunctions targeting live events, including sports events, are used in certain Member States.  The Commission will recommend to Member States and market players the best use of these existing tools for the specific case of unauthorised retransmissions of live events. It will also aim at promoting cooperation between market players and between the relevant administrative authorities established in certain Member States.  When preparing the recommendation, account will be taken of studies and reports drawn up by various institutions, including the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (Study on dynamic blocking injunctions in the European Union, 2021; Study on legislative measures related to online IPR infringements, 2018) and the European Parliament (Challenges facing sports event organisers in the digital environment. European added value assessment, 2020; Cross Border Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in the EU, 2021). |
| Basis for EU action (legal basis and subsidiarity check) |
| Legal basis |
| Article 292 TFEU empowers the Commission to adopt recommendations. |
| Practical need for EU action |
| The cross-border dimension of online transmissions, facilitated by the borderless nature of the Internet whereby viewers in the European Union can access content streamed from various jurisdictions, requires action at EU level. Action at EU level is also needed to foster cooperation between national authorities.  The recommendation is based on existing EU law instruments. It will consider how existing EU mechanisms could be used more efficiently to cope with the dynamic and borderless nature of unauthorised online streaming of live events. |
| B. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how |
| The objective of this Recommendation is to set out actions Member States and market players are encouraged to take to tackle unauthorised online retransmission of live events more efficiently, focusing on three main areas. Firstly, it will address the importance of ensuring the prompt removal of content that has been identified as an unauthorised retransmission of a live event. Secondly, the recommendation will consider how the legal remedies provided for in the IPRED Directive can be used to address the unauthorised retransmission of live events, taking into account the Commission’s guidance on certain aspects of Directive 2004/48/EC and the experience of certain Member States with dynamic and live blocking injunctions. In this respect, the recommendation will pay particular attention to the need to respect fundamental rights. Lastly, the recommendation will aim at enhancing cooperation among the relevant national authorities and between rightholders and intermediaries. |
| Likely impacts |
| It is expected that the recommendation will promote the application of efficient remedies existing under EU law (notice and action mechanisms and blocking injunctions) for curbing piracy of live content, while ensuring the necessary safeguards for the protection of fundamental rights. The recommendation is also expected to increase the cross-border cooperation of national authorities. |
| Future monitoring |
| The Commission will set up a monitoring system to assess the effects of the recommendation on the effectiveness of the legal remedies, based on the information gathered in particular from Member States, the EUIPO Observatory on infringements of IP rights, rightholders and intermediaries. This will ensure appropriate follow-up, including by proposing legislation if the desired results are not achieved. |
| C. Better regulation |
| Impact assessment |
| An impact assessment is not being conducted, as the recommendation should not entail significant new impacts for market players given that it will mainly aim at ensuring more efficient application of existing EU rules. |
| Consultation strategy |
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| Why we are consulting? |
| The Call for Evidence aims to gather experience and evidence from all relevant stakeholders on the online piracy of live events and on the functioning of the relevant EU and national rules, in particular on:  1)the extent of unauthorised retransmission online of live events;  2)the processing of notices by online intermediaries in the case of live events;  3)the efficiency of dynamic and live blocking injunctions, and the accompanying procedural safeguards ensuring fundamental rights;  4)the practices and challenges of addressing unauthorised retransmission of live events affecting several Member States;  5)the role of national competent authorities, in particular in the use of dynamic and live blocking injunctions, and experience of or opportunities for cross-border cooperation.  The Commission has already held a first discussion with the national experts in the Copyright Contact Committee [4](#footnote6)  and has engaged with stakeholders to understand the specific challenges they face.   The Commission will also organise targeted and structured meetings with stakeholders (e.g. online platforms and intermediaries, rightholders, consumers and users associations) and Member States. |
| Target audience |
| Stakeholders consulted include in particular holders of rights in transmission of live events and related broadcasts, such as broadcasters, sports event organisers, live cultural events organisers, promoters and venues, online platforms and intermediaries (internet service providers, web hosting services, cloud services, content delivery networks, reverse proxies services), public authorities at EU and national level, consumers and users organisations, and non-governmental organisations. |

:   [(1)](#footnoteref3)
     Illegal IPTV in the European Union, EUIPO, 2019.
:   [(2)](#footnoteref4)
     Certain events regarded by that Member State as being of major importance for society may have to be broadcast free to air (Article 14 of Audiovisual Media Service Directive regarding events of major importance for society).
:   [(3)](#footnoteref5)
     Sports event organisers are granted specific rights under national law in France, Greece, Italy, Spain. In addition, there are specific legal provisions on the recording and broadcasting of sports events in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia. Source: EAO Mapping study.
:   [(4)](#footnoteref6)
    <https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/meetings/consult?lang=en&meetingId=39377&fromExpertGroups=true>

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