IRIS Special

Legal Aspects of Video on Demand

89 EUR
ISBN 978-92-871- 6391-2
91 pages
Edition 2007

• Detailed table of contents here
  
• Introduction / Foreword

The publication comprises the following contributions:

Video-on-Demand: The Legal Bonds between Business Partners, Competitors and Users

This first article briefly summarises the reports presented at a workshop on this subject before giving a comprehensive overview of the various discussions involving a high-ranking group of experts (see list of participants), during which some rather contrasting opinions were expressed on the issues being addressed.

Parameters for Business Models

This chapter discusses the structure and dynamics of the VoD services available in 24 European countries. It describes the advantages and disadvantages of the different platforms and transmission methods, the main providers of VoD services and their current market positions, as well as the three most common business models.

YouTube and User Generated Content Platform – New Kids on the Block?

Using the example of YouTube, this chapter considers the legal issues linked to a particular type of VoD platforms for user-generated content. After a brief overview of the YouTube service, its origins and business model, it mainly discusses copyright issues, including with reference to the Viacom complaint. Aspects of data protection and freedom of expression are also mentioned.

Copyright Clearance and the Role of Copyright Societies

This article deals with three interrelated aspects of the exploitation of works via VoD services: copyright clearance (including music exploitation rights), the role of copyright societies and the so-called "orphan works", i.e. works whose rightsholders are difficult or impossible to identify.

Licences and Media Windows

The application of competition rules in the media sector is the subject of the fourth chapter. It considers the necessary scope of VoD licences and the difficulty of categorising them from a legal point of view. It discusses the position of VoD services in the exploitation chain (so-called "media windows") and the problems of national licensing as opposed to the proposed Europe-wide licensing.

The Music Industry's Experience and Transferability of the Music Industry's Experience to the Film Sector

These two articles address the key relationships between competitors in the music rights market and how they have been changed by online exploitation. On this basis, consideration is given to the extent to which the film industry might be able to adopt the models used by the music industry despite the structural differences between them and the contrasting traditional business and licensing models.

The Changing Role of the User in the "Television Without Frontiers" Directive

On the basis of the newly adopted Audiovisual Media Services Directive and in view of the changing role of the user (towards that of a "prosumer"), this article examines the reasons for state interference in the audiovisual sector. It considers the image of the user, types of interference and new questions that are likely to be important for media law and media policy in the future.

The Position of Public Service Broadcasters

This article summarises the key demands being made by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in view of the current needs of broadcasters relating to copyright in a digital, global environment.

Current Issues under French Law

Finally, two issues under French law that are highly relevant to the VoD market are summarised: pending legal proceedings against Internet video portals and industry agreements/compulsory collective administration.
 

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The Legal Bonds between Business Partners, Competitors and Users
Report on the joint workshop of the EAO, EMR and IViR, Berlin, 15 June 2007

Parameters for Business Models

1. More than 150 Services Operational in Europe
2. The Respective Advantages and Disadvantages of the Platforms
3. The Players
4. Three Types of Economic Models Emerge
   4.1. Rental
   4.2. Purchase
   4.3. VoD free of charge (also called FoD - “free on demand”)

YouTube and User Generated Content Platform – New Kids on the Block ?

1. General Description of YouTube
   1.1. The Service
   1.2. The Company
2. Revenue Model
3. Copyright Infringement
   3.1. Introduction: the US Perspective
   3.2. U.S. Online Service Providers’ Safe Harbors
   3.3. Example of Infringement Complaints: In re Viacom
   3.4. The E-Commerce Directive
   3.5. Use of Acoustic Fingerprints and “Claim your Content” Filtering System
4. Right to Information, Freedoms of Expression and Speech
5. Conclusion

Copyright Clearance and the Role of Copyright Societies

1. The Definition of Video-on-Demand and its Importance for Licence Agreements
2. The Role of the Copyright Societies
   2.1 German Film Production (Cinema)
   2.2 German Film Production (TV-Stations’ own or commissioned productions)
   2.3 US Film Production
   2.4 IFTA-provision on music right
3. VoD and “orphan works”

Licences and Media Windows

1. Current Issues of Video on Demand Services
2. Necessary Scope of Licences for Video on Demand
   2.1. Video on Demand as a Type of Use?
   2.2. New Type of Use?
   2.3. Relevant Exploitation Rights for Video on Demand
3. Priority in the Exploitation Chain/Media Windows
   3.1. Media Windows in Media Regulation
   3.2. Media Windows in Distribution or other Exploitation Agreements
4. Per Country vs. European-wide Licensing
   4.1. Traditional “Territorial Pricing”
   4.2. Effect: Price Discrimination
   4.3. Principle of European-wide Exhaustion
   4.4. Territorial Price Differences in Digital Distribution: European Commission Statement of Objections regarding iTunes

The Music Industry’s Experien

1. Introduction
2. Developments in the Music Industry
   2.1. The Advent of the Internet
   2.2. Moving Towards a “Licensing Business”
3. Approach for the European Film Industry
   3.1. Size May Matter
   3.2. Existing Initiatives in Europe
   3.3. A European Approach?
4. Conclusion

Transferability of the Music Industry’s Experience to the Film Sector

1. Introduction
2. Characteristics of the Film Industry
   2.1. “Patchwork” Financing Dilutes the Control of Rights
   2.2. Costs of Releasing a Film Vary Widely from One Country to Another
   2.3. Timing and Territorial Scope of Release
3. Can Independents Retain VoD Rights?
4. Examples of Emergent Business Models
   4.1. The Cooperative Model - Three Roles in One
   4.2. Licensing VoD Rights for a Limited Period of Time
   4.3. Volume Matters, But Will It Suffice to Get Better Revenue Sharing Terms?
   4.4. The Concept of Exclusivity - Will It Work Now or Later?

The Changing Role of the User in the “Television without Frontiers” Directive

1. Introduction
2. The Changing Role of the User of Audiovisual Services
   2.1 From “Eyeball” to Consumer
   2.2 From Consumer to Prosumer
3. The Changing Role of Users and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive
   3.1 Scope
   3.2 Image of the User
   3.3 Character of Intervention
   3.4 Conclusion

The Position of Public Service Broadcasters

1. Effective Collective Rights Management
   (1) One-stop-shop principle for rights administered by collecting societies
   (2) Incidental reproduction
   (3) Good governance of collecting societies
2. Simplified Rights Clearance
   (4) On-line delivery of broadcasts (streaming/simulcasting/on-demand)
   (5) Simultaneous retransmission of broadcasts over any “new media” platforms
   (6) Rights in broadcasters’ own archive programmes
3. Balance of Interests: Protection as well Openness
   (7) WIPO Broadcasters’ Treaty
   (8) Digital Rights Management

Current Issues under French Law

1. Cases against Video Sharing Services
2. Industry Agreements / Compulsory Collective Administration