FAQ

The C4C (“C4C”) initiative is a way for a great diversity of stakeholder groups interested in copyright to call on European decision-makers to ensure that copyright in the EU best supports creation, innovation, competition and the public interest. At a time when copyright policy tends to focus exclusively on increased protection and enforcement, the C4C initiative is meant to support a constructive policy agenda to adapt copyright limitations and exceptions to support European creativity, innovation and competitiveness.

In 2008, the Commission released a Green Paper and led a public consultation on “Copyright in the knowledge economy”. This initiative was a first step in rethinking the European regime for copyright limitations and exceptions. It now needs to translate into a clear policy agenda to ensure that copyright best supports creation, innovation, competition and the public interest.

The C4C initiative is particularly timely, since governments around Europe are currently rethinking their approach to copyright with the view to make it work in the knowledge economy. Since the new Parliament and Commission recently took office, now is the time to call on national and European policy makers to rethink exceptions and limitations for the knowledge economy and drive a constructive policy agenda in this area.

The effort consists of two parts:1) A declaration to which various NGOs, sectors, interests and trade associations (of any kind) may become signatories, and;2) A set of examples of uses of copyrighted works in the real world that individual signatories have provided to illustrate some of the issues they believe should be discussed at EU level to achieve the objectives of the declaration.

Firstly, the declaration brings together a wide range of stakeholders including rightholders in support of a new digital agenda around copyright and creativity. The initiative is not meant to oppose, but on the contrary to reconcile, the views of different stakeholders that believe in a copyright regime serving creation, innovation, competition and the public interest.Secondly, the declaration is meant to support a concrete policy agenda to improve the European copyright framework as a follow up of the European Commission Green Paper on “Copyright in the Knowledge Economy”. Thirdly, the declaration text is very accessible, stating the issue at stake in very simple terms. Declarations on intellectual property policy tend to be difficult to understand without legal knowledge, which limits their impact.Lastly, the declaration is accompanied by concrete examples submitted by individual signatories illustrating the kinds of real-world uses of copyrighted materials that the EU legal framework should fully support according to those who submitted them. This is very important, as it gives policymakers who decide to support the approach practical examples they can use with their constituents, which any consumer or voter would understand.

Any NGOs, sector, interest and trade associations. Have a question? Email us at cdc@n-square.eu.

Any organisation willing to sign should address its request by email to cdc@n-square.eu. In order to sign up you will be asked to provide:

1. A short description of your organisations;
2. A short description of whom your organisation represents;
3. a link on your website to that of the initiative;
4. The contact details of a person that will be responsible for any contact with the group of signatories. You can have multiple contact persons subscribed to the initiative’s
5. The contact details of a person at your organisation that will take press enquiries;
6. A quotation from someone at your organisation suitable for publication by mainstream press outlets in support of the initiative.

Any signatory can provide an example. The declaration is a general statement of principles in many respects. Real and practical examples are an integral part of the C4C effort as they illustrate the kinds of uses and activities that the declaration’s principles support, so that any users or policy-maker, without detailed knowledge of copyright, would easily understand what the practical benefits of implementing the declaration’s approach could be.All signatories get to review examples submitted and if there are objections, these are either dealt with or that example would not be included. Those that get approved are available online on our website.

Any signatory. We do however have an internal process to help ensure each signatory’s recruiting efforts are not duplicated by others, to ensure the widest possible recruitment, so if you’re willing to recruit others, get in contact with us first at cdc@n-square.eu. so we can let you know if someone else is also approaching the same group.

The current list of signatories can always be found at this page. The signatories represent a broad cross-section of interest groups, from rightsholders to public interest NGOs to large consumer representatives and everything in between.

Public statements made on behalf of the whole initiative will be vetted on the internal mailing list of all signatories first, and issued under the name of the initiative as a whole after review. The assumption will be that no objection exists unless it is raised within 7 days from posting of the statement to the list. Signatories are asked to ensure that anyone from their organisations who needs to see such statements is either subscribed to the mailing list, or receives any drafts in good time to make any comments before statements are released.When signatories speak about the initiative, they are to make clear that they are speaking about it on behalf of themselves alone.We believe these two simple and easy elements ensure everyone will be able to flexibly talk about the declaration, without representing the other signatories; at the same time, all signatories will feel comfortable that they are not going to be surprised by statements made on behalf of the whole effort as they’ll have had the chance to vet them and amend them in advance.

Journalists will be referred to the website and pointed at the statements made on behalf of the whole initiative. They will also be provided with a list of contact details of all representatives of the signatories of the C4C initiative.

The declaration was drafted over several months by a group of stakeholders representing a wide range of interests. It won’t be amended, but the possibility for signatories to submit examples allows for their specific interests to be reflected, and ensures that the initiative continues to evolve and reflect current issues in the copyright world.

The declaration is aimed at policy makers, and intended to raise awareness on the need for a balanced European copyright regime, supporting creation, innovation, competition and the public interest.