Modèle:ConsultCE2014:Freedom of non-market collective use

5. Freedom of non-market collective use

Besides non-market activities of individuals, non-market collective activities play an essential role for access to knowledge and cultural life. They take place for instance in libraries, museums and archives. Typical activities are the free-of-charge public performance of copyrighted works in sites accessible to the public; the use of digital versions of copyrighted works by non-profit organizations; providing reproduction means to users within non-commercial organizations; and libraries or archives giving access to digitised resources they have in their possession.

Today, such collective use takes place within constrained, heterogeneous and ill-adapted legal frameworks. Prejudiced views according to which in the digital world, collective use would harm sales to individuals lead right holders to use their prerogatives to prevent libraries from letting users access digital works. In a context where the non-market exchanges between individuals would be legalized, it would nevertheless be paradoxical if we do not recognize extended collective use rights in parallel.

To this effect, one needs to put in place the following measures:

• Non commercial performance of copyrighted works: creation of a non-compensated exception, through the transformation of the exception for public performance within the family circle into a non-commercial public performance exception.
• On-line non-market use of copyrighted works: moral persons developing not-for-profit activities must benefit from the same access rights than individuals within non-market sharing.
• Provision by libraries of reproduction means (including lending digital reading devices) to users: such use must be assimilated to private copies, even when there is a transmission to a distant facility.

Finally, the role of libraries in making available digital versions of non-orphan copyrighted works (beyond lending reading devices) raises important questions. A wide set of solutions can be considered, from libraries becoming the source and provider of a reference copy of all works to an exception with compensation to right holders.