Just a few months ago we disclosed our thoughts on the EU outright ignoring copyright laws and legislation that was already in place on the internet. The fact that the new EU “initiatives” on the web were delayed for so long gave hope to some that this law would not go into effect. Today it seems that hope is lost and was ill-founded all along.

Referencing article from (Engadget)

“The Copyright Directive makes internet platforms liable for content uploaded to their sites. Companies like Facebook, YouTube and Google will be responsible for checking all uploaded content for copyrighted material, per Article 13 (renamed Article 17). And news aggregators will be required to pay for snippets that go beyond “individual words or very short extracts,” thanks to Article 11. Critics say both articles could restrict how content is shared online. YouTube has protested the rules as a threat to the creative economy, and Google — perhaps the most vocal critic to date — has gone as far as to say the directive would create a digital ghost town. Even the EU Parliament has gone back and forth on the matter.

Passed today with 348 votes in favor and 274 against, the updated Copyright Directive does include “safeguards on freedom of expression” — memes and GIFs are now specifically excluded from the directive and start-up platforms are subject to lighter requirements. But there’s still pushback. “The #eucopyrightdirective is improved but will still lead to legal uncertainty and will hurt Europe’s creative and digital economies,” Google Europe tweeted….” We couldn’t agree more. Beyond that, what will happen to internet copyright laws for the rest of the world? Has this bureaucracy set a precedence that will redefine the web? If you’re doing business in Europe, then you might need some help navigating this new world order. We have clients in Europe, and Bobby Breaux, the owner of the company, “stays” in Zurich, Switzerland about 40% of the time, so we are very familiar with EU Requirements. We have teamed up with Paul Franzetti, an International Business lawyer, to help our clients meet the confounding requirements of the European Union.

Your website should…

• Filter unapproved Images
• Block copyrighted Material
• Prevent copyrighted Music (Lyrics included) 
• Discourage linking to Copyrighted Videos and content
• Disclose any Copyright sources sited with permission and now with additional attribution requirements

Sneaker Web Design can help you with basics of compliance with EU Article 13. We have software experts ready to help you filter unapproved content and place additional measures for your website to prevent uploads of files that could cause you and your website to be breaking this new law. Contact us today to learn more!