On the proposal put forward by the German opposition factions Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and Die Linke for the abolition of ancillary copyright law, being debated in Federal Parliament today, eco Director of Policy and Law Oliver Süme states:
“We welcome the initiative of the opposition to overturn Ancillary Copyright Law through an appropriate Repealing Law. eco spoke out in the past against the introduction of Ancillary Copyright Law for publishers, and has from the start called for the abolition of this regulation, one which is a barrier to both investment and innovation. In our opinion, it is questionable whether the Ancillary Copyright Law is in accordance with the German constitution, and the law creates only disadvantages from an economic point of view.
eco hopes that the upcoming deliberations in Parliament will lead to a new debate on the underlying issues regarding the contentious Ancillary Copyright Law for publishers, and will at least provide a clear signal from the Federal Government of their intention to rapidly implement the evaluation of the Ancillary Copyright Law, as was presaged in the coalition contract, and subsequently to abolish it.”