Permissibility of Non-Voluntary Collective Management of Copyright Under EU Law: The Case of the French Law on Out-of-Commerce Books

Abstract

The possibility of the EU member states to adapt copyright legislation to new circumstances and to address unforeseen issues is limited by the list of exceptions and restrictions of the InfoSoc Directive. In spite of this constraint, the EU copyright framework provides for a possibility of introduction of non-voluntary forms of collective rights management that can help to tackle some of the contemporary problems with remuneration and access.

This article is an attempt to deepen the understanding of non-voluntary collective management and its possible use. First, it provides a detailed description of the French mechanism adopted for facilitating mass digitization and making out-of-commerce books available, which was implemented through a new form of collective management of copyright. Then, it examines the mechanism’s compatibility with the InfoSoc Directive through comparison with the extended collective licensing.

Keywords: Copyright, EU, Collective Management, French, Mass Digitisation, Out-of-Commerce, Books, Mandatory, Extended License, CJEU, C-301/15, Soulier and Doke, InfoSoc, Exceptions, Limitations