Reasons for proposal on ensuring the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market
Seamless access to online content services by consumers throughout the Union is important for the smooth functioning of the internal market. Since the internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers relying, intern alia, on the free movement of services and persons, it is necessary to provide that consumers can use portable online content services which offer access to content such as music, games, films or sporting event not only in their Member State of residence but also when they are temporarily present in other Member States of the Union. Therefore, barriers that hamper access and use of such online content services in such cases should be eliminated.
The technological development leading to a proliferation of portable devices such as tablets and smartphones increasingly facilitates the use of online content services by providing access to them regardless of the consumers’ location. There is rapidly growing demand on the part of consumers for access to content and innovative online services not only in their home country but also when they are temporarily present in another Member State of the Union. Consumers increasingly enter into contractual arrangements with service providers for the provision of online content services. However, consumers that are temporarily present in another Member State of the Union often cannot continue accessing and using the online content services that they have acquired the right to use in their home country.
There are a number of barriers which hinder the provision of these services to consumers temporarily present in another Member State. Certain online services include content such as music, games or films which are protected by copyright and/or related rights under Union law. In particular, the obstacles to cross-border portability of online content services stem from the fact that the rights for the transmission of content protected by copyright and/or related rights such as audiovisual works are often licenced on a territorial basis as well as from the fact that online service providers may choose to serve specific markets only.
The same applies to other content such as sporting events which is not protected by copyright and/or related rights under Union law but which may be protected by copyright, related rights or by virtue of other specific legislation under national law and which is often also licenced by organisers of such events or offered by online service providers on a territorial basis. Transmissions of such content by broadcasting organisations would be protected by related rights which have been harmonised at Union level. In addition, transmissions of such content often include copyright-protected elements such as music, opening or closing video sequences or graphics. In addition, certain aspects of such transmissions relating to events of major importance for society or events of high interest to the public for the purpose of short news reports, have been harmonised by Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. Finally, audiovisual media services within the meaning of Directive 2010/13/EU include services which provide access to content such as sporting events, news or current events.
Therefore, increasingly, online content services are marketed in a package in which content which is not protected by copyright and/or related rights is not separable from content which is protected by copyright and/or related rights without substantially lessening the value of the service provided to consumers. This is especially the case with premium content such as sporting or other events of significant interest to consumers. In order to enable service providers to deliver to consumers, when the latter are temporarily in a Member State other than their Member State of residence, full access to their online content services, it is indispensable that this Regulation also covers such content used by online content services and therefore that it applies to audiovisual media services in the meaning of Directive 2010/13/EU as well as to transmissions of broadcasting organisations in their entirety.
Therefore, providers of online content services that make use of works or other protected subject-matter, such as books, audiovisual works, recorded music or broadcasts must have the rights to use such content for the relevant territories. The transmission by the online service provider of content that is protected by copyright and related rights requires the authorisation of the relevant right holders such as authors, performers, producers or broadcasting organisations for the content that would be included in the transmission. This is equally true when such transmission takes place for the purpose of allowing a consumer to carry out a download in order to use an online content service.
The acquisition of a licence for the relevant rights is not always possible, notably when rights in content are licenced on an exclusive basis. In order to ensure the territorial exclusivity, online service providers often undertake, in their licence contracts with right holders, including broadcasting organisations or events organisers, to prevent their subscribers from accessing and using their service outside the territory for which the service provider holds the licence. These contractual restrictions imposed on service providers require providers to take measures such as disallowing access to their services from IP addresses located outside the territory concerned. Therefore, one of the obstacles to the cross-border portability of online content services is to be found in the contracts concluded between the online service providers and their subscribers, which in turn reflect the territorial restriction clauses included in contracts concluded between those service providers and right holders.