IFPI Austria
IFPI
Der Verband der österreichischen Musikwirtschaft – IFPI Austria vertritt die Interessen seiner Mitglieder in allen firmenübergreifenden Fragen.
ID: 808781214497-53
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Helmut Brandstätter (Member of the European Parliament)
8 Oct 2025 · Exchange of Views
Response to Assessment of the effects of the Recommendation on combating online piracy of sports and other live events
4 Jun 2025
IFPI Austria represents the recording industry in Austria, with members representing local independent record labels as well as the Austrian affiliates of the major record labels. Speed remains of essence when it comes to addressing online piracy, not only in relation to the unauthorised transmission of live content, but also in relation to other time sensitive content. Therefore, when assessing the impact of the Recommendation, it should also be considered that the Recommendation did not cover all types of time sensitive copyright protected content. This includes, by way of example, the making available of pre-releases or distribution of unreleased content, where timely enforcement is of essence in order to prevent further commercial harm to the label and their affected artist. It also includes group buys" (e.g. groups on Discord whereby users can group together to purchase unauthorised pre-release content) or unauthorised bootlegs (i.e. the making available of unauthorised recordings of live performances). With the growth of new technologies, the above-mentioned scenarios are only expected to become more wide-spread and a bigger problem for the music right holders. They should be part of the scope of any further EU recommendations going forward. Swift action is of essence but is often not available given the deficiencies in the implementation of the legal framework applicable in the EU and its Member States. The European Commission should encourage and work more closely with Member States to ensure a proper implementation of the EU acquis at national level. We find the implementation of the NIS2 Directive concerning. Enforcement in the EU remains a challenge because of the differences at national level, the speed of the measures and the absence of a cross-border effect of any measures taken at national level. We therefore encourage the European Commission: 1. to adopt a broad approach in connection with any further recommendations to cover all types of live and time sensitive copyright protected content; 2. most importantly, to ensure an effective implementation of the existing EU IPR enforcement related rules (including but not limited to the EU IP Enforcement Directive, DSA and NIS2) and to take action against those Member States which have not currently done so; and 3. to continue work on IPR enforcement, beyond the Recommendation, to provide for effective tools for all right holders to tackle online piracy more effectively including improving the availability of injunctions (expedited, dynamic, catalogue wide, and with cross-border effect), introducing notice and stay down for all host providers, and meaningful responsibilities for all types of online intermediaries to ensure transparency and Know your Business Customer rules so as to remove the cloak of anonymity from criminal operators. Expedited, dynamic, catalogue wide injunctions, and with cross-border effect, as well as a meaningful effective right of information are also crucial in the context of generative AI, given that copyright protected works can potentially be exploited at scale. Considering the extremely rapid development of generative AI, we believe that the next steps by the European Commission should not only be focused on the assessment and possible review of the Recommendation in question but also look at ways to ensure the effective implementation of and compliance with the current EU legal framework related to generative AI. Such assessment should focus on, but not be limited to, the EU AI Act. Meaningful application of the GPAI obligations of the AI Act should be complemented with procedural measures to tackle cases of non-compliance more effectively.
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