This is not very often that we get feedback on our lobbying efforts. For this reason I am happy to share with you the testimony of Octav Ganea, who was on a panel at CEPIC 2023 reviewing the implementation of the EU copyright Directive.
“Hello, ladies and gents I shared a panel with,
I just wanted to take a moment (hopefully not out of your vacation) and thank you for the precious intel I gathered at Cepic.
As I got back from the event I found an email in my inbox from one of our clients, a major news TV station, that came with an addendum to our contract stating that we would agree to the usage (without pay of course) of our images in the news pieces they would publish on major Social Networks, according to the European Directive and that we would never emit any claims for the still or moving imagery they would publish, let’s say on Meta or Alphabet.
And because during CEPIC I listened and took notes, I quickly skimmed through the law that had been put in accordance with the EU Directive and only 3 paragraphs down I identified the paragraph that would grant us leverage and negotiation rights.
I set up a meeting with their online chief and legal department and to keep the story short, after negotiations and after I made them admit that we are entitled to such a payment, we managed to avoid a concession, thus receiving payment for the images that would be published on the big social media networks, a right they so cunningly tried to deny.
Thank you Sylvie for the opportunity, Alex for the kind invitation, Stephanie and Marie-Avril for the know-how. If at any time you run across pieces of legal information that would similarly benefit a brave and independent news agency based in Eastern Europe, I am just an email away.
All the best,
Octav Ganea
Photojournalist & Managing Partner
CAMPANIE NATIONALA DE INFORMARE COPYRIGHT
“
THANK YOU for sharing this story!
The full recording of the Panel on “Up-Date on EU legislation” is available here:
CEPIC 2023 – Day 2 – Seminar on Up-Date on EU legislation, including AI legislation – YouTube
