Copyright and related rights: satellite broadcasting and cable retransmission

KEY POINTS

Country of origin principle for satellite broadcasting

• The directive introduced an exclusive right for authors to authorise the communication to the public by satellite of their works.
• In order to facilitate cross-border satellite broadcasting, the directive provides that the communication to the public by satellite takes place in the EU country of origin of the satellite transmission, i.e. in the EU country where the programme-carrying signals are introduced, under the control and responsibility of a broadcasting organisation, into an uninterrupted chain of communication leading to the satellite and down towards the Earth. According to this ‘country of origin principle’, copyright authorisations for satellite broadcasting only need to be obtained for the EU country of origin of the satellite broadcast and not for the EU countries where the signals are received.

Mandatory collective management of rights for cable retransmission

• The directive also makes it easier to obtain the authorisation of holders of copyright and related rights for the retransmission by cable of television or radio programmes from other EU countries. Rights holders can exercise their right to authorise or prohibit the retransmission of their works or other subject-matter (as part of the broadcast programmes that are being retransmitted) only via a collecting society. This applies to all relevant rights, except those that are held by broadcasting organisations themselves.
• Where no agreement can be reached allowing the retransmission of a broadcast, the parties may call upon mediators who can assist with the negotiation and may also submit non-binding recommendations to the parties.
• The definition of cable retransmission originally included in this directive was slightly amended by Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2019/789 (see summary) in order to cover situations in which the programme-carrying signals are transmitted by broadcasting organisations to cable operators through the technical process of direct injection (defined in Article 2 of the same directive). This is the only amendment brought by Directive (EU) 2019/789, which otherwise complements Directive 93/83/EEC by introducing new rules aimed at further facilitating the cross-border distribution of radio and television programmes.

Evaluation

A European Commission staff working document evaluated the operation of the directive in 2016.