Poland in court for failing to adopt copyright rules

EU

European Union flag: EU opens portal for young Nigerians to apply for its 2022 Erasmus+ scholarship programme for access to quality higher education

European Union flag

The European Commission on Thursday referred Poland to court for failing to adopt EU rules on the licensing of music online, proposing a daily fine of 87,612 Euros (108,679 dollars) until Warsaw falls into line.

According to rights watchdogs, Poland is under fire from Brussels over reforms introduced by the country’s national-conservative government, including a judicial overhaul that places the courts under excessive political influence.

“Warsaw has failed to notify the commission that it has implemented EU rules on the collective management of copyright and the licensing of online music rights,’’ the EU’s executive said.

It was supposed to do so by April 2016.

One month later, the commission contacted Warsaw to say it had not received notification of the copyright rules’ implementation.

READ: Oprah Winfrey not interested in 2020 presidential run

Related News

“The rules are an essential part of Europe’s copy right legislation,’’ the commission said in a statement.

If the European Court of Justice finds Poland at fault, it can set a daily fine from the day of its decision until the moment Warsaw says it has implemented the new EU rules.

The commission also took Bulgaria and the Netherlands to court for failing to fully implement EU rules bringing down broadband internet costs, proposing daily fines of 22,226 Euros for Sofia and 87,091 Euros for The Hague.

Ireland was also taken to task for failing to assess the environmental impact of a wind farm built over 13 years ago.

The commission proposed a minimum lump sum payment of almost 1.7 million Euros, plus daily penalties.

Load more