The office of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has replied to C4C ’s recent letter to the Commission on the ongoing “Licensing Europe” initiative. C4C had voiced hopes that the commission include our members’ input and not focus too narrowly on licensing models at the expense of limitations and exceptions to copyright.

The reply from President Barroso’s office stressed a commitment to “smart regulation principles” and urged C4C to “continue to engage in this process.” To that end, C4C is helping arrange for several of our members to participate in upcoming Commission-sponsored “stakeholder dialogue” sessions that will likely take place in the next few weeks.

This involvement is important, given that a flexible copyright system that includes a sensible framework for limitations and exceptions is crucial to the work of so many of our members’ work in both the public and commercial arena.