02
Jul 2024
Finland discusses a return to copyright levies: a new path to fair compensation?
On 02 , Jul 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
A fierce controversy is raging in Finland over the level of remuneration for private copying – mainly because the government wants to drastically reduce it. According to a study from the creative industry, this remuneration for authors and other rights holders should be significantly increased. This is because private copying has by no means ...
01
Jul 2024
ECHA added one new SVHC to the REACH Candidate list
On 01 , Jul 2024 | In | By Monika Srubarova
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) updated the REACH Candidate List on 27 June 2024. One Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) was added to the list due to its hazardous properties. Substance name Reason for inclusion Examples of use(s) Bis(α,α-dimethylbenzyl) peroxide Toxic for reproduction (Article 57c) Used as a processing aid, e.g. as a ...
27
Jun 2024
Right to Repair Directive
On 27 , Jun 2024 | In | By Diana Lippert
The European Parliament has officially adopted the Right to Repair Directive. This directive will soon be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force 20 days after its publication. Member states will then have 24 months to incorporate the directive into national law. The directive aims to make repairs more ...
26
Jun 2024
Flanders region: Online marketplaces must check EPR registrations
On 26 , Jun 2024 | In | By Ute Binder
Operators of online marketplaces are subject to further inspection obligations: in the future, they will have to check whether their online sellers who offer electrical and electronic products for sale in Belgium are registered to do so. This obligation already applies in Germany, France, and now also in Belgium. So far, however, the legal basis ...
20
Jun 2024
EU: New Measures Against Environmental Crime
On 20 , Jun 2024 | In | By Diana Lippert
Environmental crimes are an extremely lucrative sector of organized crime, ranking fourth in terms of activity. Every year, these crimes cause damage amounting to hundreds of billions of euros, according to European authorities. The existing regulations on sanctions under Directive 2008/99/EC have been insufficient in ensuring compliance with the ...
21
May 2024
Denmark: Registration deadline for packaging ends on 31 August 2024
On 21 , May 2024 | In | By Ute Binder
Denmark will be the last EU country to introduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging on 1 January 2025, thereby complying with existing EU law. However, manufacturers who market packaged products in Denmark must already register in the Danish DPA producer register. This is stipulated in the Implementing Regulation on the ...
15
May 2024
Copyright Levies for Game Consoles – the next step
On 15 , May 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
A raid – this is how one reporter describes the publication of new copyright levies for games consoles, digital toys with integrated memory, virtual reality, data glasses with integrated memory ,and media centres ("high-performance multimedia hard drives" or NAS in Austria). From a factual point of view, this is not an inaccurate description of ...
14
May 2024
Conflict Minerals: New Version of Reporting Templates available
On 14 , May 2024 | In | By Monika Srubarova
The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) on April 26, 2024 resulted in the newest version (6.4) of the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT), and the newest version (3.1) of Extended Mineral Reporting Template (EMRT). Primarily designed for the exchange of 3TG conflict minerals data across supply chains to ensure compliance with the U.S. ...
13
May 2024
Producer Responsibility for Refurbishers
On 13 , May 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Now it is the European platforms and refurbishers themselves who are making a new attempt to oblige sellers to comply with the rules: in a self-disclosure (Back Market) or in stricter terms of delivery (Rakuten, Cdiscount and others), all sellers of refurbished smartphones and tablets are to state whether they pay copyright levies. This applies in ...
12
Apr 2024
Austrian Court Affirms Copyright Levies on Cloud Storage
On 12 , Apr 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Copyright levies are likely to be paid for cloud services after all – this was recently denied by a German court. The Austrian Commercial Court in Vienna has now ruled against the German company Strato AG (Ref.: 43 Cg 29/19s - 34). The company must provide comprehensive information about the cloud services it has been offering in Austria since 1 ...