The Copyright Directive won the backing of MEPs on 12 September and can now enter “trilogue” discussions with the European Council and Commission.

The voting was as follows: 438 in favour, 226 against, with 39 abstentions.

After two years of thorough and careful debate, Parliament has adopted a mandate to take draft reforms forward into final negotiations with the Council and Commission. This is great news for Europe’s creative community and for all who enjoy and take inspiration from creative works.

The new directive is designed to make the modern internet fair for all by properly valuing creative works online, supporting freedom of expression and ensuring a balance with the rights of internet users. Contrary to some claims, the free and vibrant internet that we all appreciate is not under threat; individuals will still be sharing hyperlinks, parodies and posting content as they always have, just so long as the upload platforms obtain any necessary licences as is standard in the offline world.

As the BCC says: “The result represents a great step forward for the copyright community and is testimony to the very hard work of many people across the creative sector and by committed MEPs to save this important legislation in the face of a fierce and coordinated campaign backed by tech giants.

BCC members have been tenacious, reasoned and imaginative in advocating for the directive, and it has paid off today. Thank you also to those who have used and shared campaign materials circulated last month.”

You can read more about the Directive here.