EU copyright law: developing exceptions and limitations systematically – an analysis of recent legislative proposals

Abstract

In the European Union, Copyright law is not uniform. There are a number of EU Directives concerning copyright law, which form an exhaustive list of limitations and exceptions, most of which are optional. The optional nature of limitations and exceptions is a significant obstacle to effective harmonisation in the Member States, which creates legal uncertainty for rightsholders and users. The aim of this article is to examine limitations and exceptions under the current EU copyright law, to analyse what efforts the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament have undertaken in order to reform EU copyright and to present other possible options for reform regarding exceptions and limitations in the EU.