Kiri

Mr Tiit Terik Minister of Culture and Sport Brussels, 14 December 2021 Dear Minister, Following-up on our letter from 23 July, we – as representatives of leading European live content producers, broadcasters and exhibiters – are writing to you to request your support in our fight against online piracy and illegal streaming. As you know, the European Parliament (EP) resolution ‘Challenges of sports events organisers in the digital environment’ adopted on 19 May 2021, calls on the European Commission to propose legislation in order to clarify the notion of “expeditious” removal to ensure that online intermediaries remove or disable access to illegal live events’ broadcasts as fast as possible and before the live event terminates. Indeed, a removal which would take place after the end of the live broadcast would simply be meaningless. In its official response to the EP, the European Commission (EC) recognised the need for greater protections for the broadcast of live events in order to tackle their illegal transmission more efficiently. The EC also committed to further actions on piracy that would properly respond to existing realities that the rightsholders are confronted with on a day-to-day basis. The EC is now consulting with the Member States and the E-meeting of the Copyright Contact Committee on Friday 17 December will be dedicated to this topic. We believe that blocking injunctions and national cooperation are important elements. However, they cannot alone solve the issue and efficiently tackle the problem of piracy that our sectors face. We do need a legally binding initiative, which clarifies that “expeditious” removal means as fast as possible and in any case before the live event terminates, and which foresees efficient remedies such as near live take down tools. Our sectors, which have been heavily hit by the COVID pandemic, need it urgently. In this context, we respectfully ask your representative to support the EP call for a targeted legislative initiative to protect the live events in Europe. We thank you in advance for your support and remain at your disposal for further clarification. Mark Lichtenhein SROC Chairman On behalf of the Live Content Coalition ACT members finance, produce, promote and distribute content and services benefiting millions of Europeans across all platforms. We entertain and inform Europe’s households every day via thousands of channels, VoD and OTT services available across Europe. ACT believes that a healthy and sustainable commercial broadcasting sector plays a crucial role for Europe’s economy, society and culture. www.acte.be The Arena Resilience Alliance (ARA) is a special purpose vehicle created by the European Arenas Association to demonstrate solidarity, and the need for concerted action in relation to the existence of arenas as a societal hub in the provision of indoor live music and sports event. FEAT’s members are leading live event professionals from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, as well as Norway and Switzerland. They are the promoters for music artists (including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Björk, Iron Maiden, Florence + the Machine, Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Rammstein) Comedians (including Maz Jobrani, Aziz Ansari, Michael McIntyre, Ane Høgsberg, and Dara O’Briain) and festivals (including Nova Rock Festival, Hurricane/Southside Festivals and Pitchfork Paris). For more information, visit FEAT’s website http://www.feat-alliance.org Pearle* - Live Performance Europe is the European employers’ federation of live performance organisations. Through our members, we represent more than 10,000 organisations in the sector across Europe, including theatres, theatre production companies, bands and music ensembles, orchestras, opera houses, ballet, dance companies, festivals, concert venues, producers, promoters, agents, comedy, variété, circus, event suppliers and others. www.pearle.eu The Sports Rights Owners Coalition (“SROC”) is a forum of over 50 international and national sports bodies and competition organisers, with a particular focus on rights issues. SROC members represent the leading and most popular sports competitions, attracting millions of spectators and viewers and more and more impacted by illegal broadcast and digital piracy. More information about us can be found on our website: www.sroc.info