Jot: European Commission Starts Infringement Proceedings Against Member States

The European Commission is taking the first steps in an infringement procedure under the EC Treaty against France, Spain, Finland and the Czech Republic for their failure to implement the European Copyright Directive (EUCD). The press release is frank about the rightsholders' centered focus of the EUCD:

The 2001 Copyright Directive is an essential plank in updating EU copyright law and providing an adequate level of copyright protection for authors and other right-holders in the digital environment. In this respect, the Copyright Directive requires Member States to provide adequate legal protection against “hacking” or other disabling of that “anti-copying” devices and other equipment used to protect copyright when works are published digitally.