Italy has adopted a legal amendment to extend the term of exclusive rights for simple photographs from 20 to 70 years, a drastic shift that may cause serious damage, unless corrective action is taken. For decades, Italian copyright law has recognised the dual nature of photography: creative photographs, protected as full copyright works for 70 […]
In July, MEP Axel Voss released his draft for an own initiative report on Copyright and generative AI in the JURI Committee. While the proposal was well-intentioned, in our initial reaction we were quick to criticize numerous aspects of the text, most notably its disregard for the existing legal framework, ambiguous proposals and lack of […]
Last week, COMMUNIA submitted its response (PDF file) to the CSPLA Task Force on the Protection of Content Generated Using Generative AI. Our contribution build on our Policy Paper #22 against new exclusive rights for AI-generated outputs, stressing that EU copyright law is fully equipped to deal with AI-generated outputs, that the existing EU originality […]
In our capacity as accredited observers of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), we are attending the 47th session of the Committee, which is currently taking place in Geneva (1-5 December, 2025). The following statement contains COMMUNIA’s position regarding the current draft treaty on the protection of broadcasting organizations (Agenda Item […]
Today, we’re releasing Navigating Uncertainty: Legal Risk Awareness and Management in European Museums, a study commissioned by COMMUNIA and conducted by Centrum Cyfrowe (available as a PDF file). As part of our work on a Digital Knowledge Act, we have identified the fear of being sued and held liable for copyright infringement as a major […]
On September 18, 2025, the Italian Senate definitively approved the country’s first comprehensive framework law on artificial intelligence (AI). The new law also reflects Italy’s commitment to aligning its domestic legal system with the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), ensuring coherence between national rules and the emerging European regulatory framework. Law no. 132 […]
Yesterday, COMMUNIA made a submission to the call for evidence for an impact assessment on the European Research Area (ERA) Act. The European Commission is expected to propose an ERA Act over the course of the 2024-2029 mandate, to turn the “fifth freedom” for research, innovation, knowledge and education into reality and unlock European research. […]
Today, COMMUNIA releases Policy Paper #23 for a general scientific research exception (also available as a PDF file), advocating for a comprehensive overhaul of the copyright framework for research uses. The research exceptions in the EU copyright acquis are too limited in scope, not sufficiently harmonised, and display additional conceptual issues, preventing the realisation of […]
In June 2025, the Danish government together with a number of opposition parties jointly proposed the establishment of a safeguard against the sharing of digital imitations by amending the Copyright Act by introducing two protections: 1) A general protection against realistic digitally generated imitations of personal characteristics; and (2) An imitation protection for performing artists. […]
The EU General-Purpose AI Code of Practice is finally out (download the copyright chapter as a PDF file). The Code of Practice—drafted by independent experts with input from over 1,000 stakeholders—should have been ready “at the latest by 2 May 2025” (Article 56(9) AI Act). However, as a result of several stakeholders pushing back against […]
