EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS
European Commission: The Commission has prepared a proposal for new rules in the area of the unitary patent. This will be valid throughout the EU, which will primarily benefit small and medium-sized companies, who will be able to patent their inventions in one country, but they will be valid throughout the entire Union. This will make companies much more competitive on the market, as it will greatly reduce the costs and procedures of applying for patents in each Member State separately. More about this at this link .
European Commission: The Commission has made the first list of very large online platforms and search engines under the Digital Services Act (DSA). These are players in the market that reach at least 45 million monthly active users. Under the new legislation, the Commission has identified 17 very large online platforms and two very large online search engines that will have to strictly comply with online transparency, security and accountability requirements under the new legislation. More about this at this link .
WIPO: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has published conversations with world-renowned women about the position of women and the involvement of women in the field of intellectual property protection. More about this at this link .
European Parliament: The European Parliament has published a summary of its research department’s report on the impact of artificial intelligence on museum and cultural heritage activities. More about this at this link .
INDUSTRY
Filmautor: The Bulgarian collective organization Filmautor is concerned about the debate in the Bulgarian parliament on changes to legislation that could threaten the rights of Bulgarian authors and performers. The proposed changes could lead to a large part of the compensation from the use of copyrighted works being diverted to large online platforms, instead of remaining in the hands of authors and performers. Bulgarian rights holders are therefore advocating for the adoption of a law that would ensure that authors and performers receive fair compensation for the use of their works, including online. More about this at this link .
Euroactiv: Euroactiv produced news summaries on the European Parliament’s caucuses reaching an agreement on the AI Bill and the European Commission’s listing of 19 large online platforms and search engines. More about this at this link .
Euractiv: Comment on EU should regulate TikTok, not ban it. Brussels should not be governed by the US, but by its own legislation, notably the Digital Services Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Otherwise, the EU itself can undermine its regulation online, notes Euroactiv. More about this at this link .
Euroactiv: Comment on how new European media legislation should “give teeth”. If we look from Berlin, then the European Commission should not have any additional powers in enforcing the new legislation on European media freedom, which is currently being negotiated. However, countries in Eastern Europe and candidates for EU accession in the Balkans want “legislation with teeth”. More about this at this link .
Communia: Communia commented on the use of protected works for machine learning. Artificial intelligence is developing very quickly, increasingly using copyrighted works, the organization notes. More about this at this link .
European Federation of Journalists: The association has published an open letter in which they respond to the draft report on the law on freedom of the press. In the letter, they criticize the draft report prepared by the president of the European Parliament’s Committee on Education and Culture (CULT), Sabine Verheyen, and express concern about the potential negative effects of the report on media freedom and journalistic work in Europe. More about this at this link .