On the 1st of August, the Belgian Act implementing Directive 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (the DSM Directive) was published in the Belgian Gazette, and entered into force. The DSM Directive tackles multiple issues, aiming to adapt national legislation to the digital era as well as facilitating the establishment of the Digital Internal Market.
The DSM Directive contains several provisions that are certain to have a significant impact on Belgian law. It provides a.o. for mandatory exceptions to copyright and related rights, introduces certain measures aiming to improve licensing practices and ensure wider access to content, and contains provisions concerning collective licensing, access to and availability of audio-visual works on video-on-demand platforms.
The Directive also introduces important dispositions with respect to online publishers of press publications, including reproduction rights, and furthermore provides that online content-sharing providers require the authorisation of rightsholders when communicating works or other subject matter or when making them available to the public.
The text of the Belgian Act is available here (NL – FR).
Do you have any specific questions on this topic or do you want to learn more about our IP, IT & Data team and how they support our clients? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at ip-data@liedekerke.com