Legal protection for encrypted services, consultation on theneed for Community action. Green Paper

Copyright protection is possible only if steps are also taken to protect the distribution of copyrighted works. This was the unanimous conclusion of members of the Committee (chairman: Willy DE CLERCQ (ELDR, B)), who discussed the report by Georgios ANASTASSOPOULOS (EPP, Gr) on the Commission Green Paper on legal protection for encrypted services in the internal market (consultation procedure). The committee took the view that 'dual protection' (of copyright and of distribution) is endangered by piracy. There are loopholes in national laws which can be exploited and only protection harmonised at the highest level can cope with this situation. Given the differences in national regulations, Community harmonization should be introduced via a directive rather than a regulation. �