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Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 14221 | 16 December 2016
Intellectual property rights in the digital era
1. The Committee of
Ministers has carefully examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2089 (2016)
on “Intellectual property rights in the digital era” together with
its Resolution 2110 (2016) with the same name. It has received comments
on the recommendation from the Steering Committee on Media and Information
Society (CDMSI) and the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY).
The Committee of Ministers invites the governments of member States
to transmit the Assembly’s recommendation and resolution to the competent
domestic ministries and agencies.
2. The Committee of Ministers considers that the protection of
intellectual property rights online is essential to effectively
safeguard the right to property and to promote cultural and economic
development. However, in this context, it recalls also the need
to balance the right to property against the right to freedom of
expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention
on Human Rights.
3. The Committee of Ministers underlines that the issue of copyright
infringement as stipulated by Article 10 of the Convention on Cybercrime
(Budapest Convention) refers to other international agreements on intellectual
property rights and requires that these instruments are also applied
with respect to crime involving computer systems. For this reason,
and also in the light of discussions under way in other fora, the
Committee considers it premature to draw up guiding principles on
legal and practical measures against the infringement of copyright
and related rights in accordance with Article 10, as suggested by
the Parliamentary Assembly. It intends to follow developments in
this field and come back to this matter once there is more clarity.
4. The Committee of Ministers invites the Parties to the European
Convention on the Legal Protection of Services based on, or consisting
of, Conditional Access (ETS No. 178) to consider the Assembly’s
proposal to study the effectiveness of domestic law and practice
in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention as regards the protection
of intellectual property rights, while keeping in mind, however,
that discussions are under way in other fora.
5. Presently, the Committee of Ministers is not intending to
take practical action to follow up its Recommendation Rec(2001)7 to
member States on measures to protect copyright and neighbouring
rights and combat piracy, especially in the digital environment.
It invites member States to take such action in co‑operation, whenever
pertinent, with the bodies referred to in the Assembly recommendation
(paragraphs 2.3 and 2.4).