When the EU last overhauled its copyright rules, back in 2001, the German newspaper Bild was selling more than 4m copies a day, music lovers were buying 2.4bn CDs a year, and recently revived computer maker Apple had just brought out something called an iPod. But while a lot has changed since then, the rules have stayed the same — which is why, this week, Brussels will try to bring them up to date. EU officials are promising an overhaul that will affect everything from YouTube’s dealings with record labels to news aggregators use of newspaper stories.
European Commission plans to help rights holders secure a better deal from YouTube, for example, have been music to the ears of record labels such as Universal and Sony.