A Central and Eastern European Perspective on EU Copyright Reform:: The Case of Lithuania

The European Commission’s latest round of discussions on copyright reforms dates back to 2013. 1 The first copyright reform package was discussed in 2014, but was never released to the public. 2 After reviewing their views, in 2015 the Commission revealed their Digital Single Market Strategy (DSM). 3 The DSM outlined a number of policy measures aiming at the creation of a digital single market in the EU, and included copyright law reform as part of this package. 4 In 2016, the Commission released a package of documents suggesting reforms to the EU copyright framework, including inter alia the proposed Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market 5 (hereinafter “the Proposed Directive”), and a Regulation on Online Transmissions and Retransmissions of TV and Radio Programs, 6 accompanied by the Impact Assessment on the modernization of EU copyright rules. 7 The Commission’s proposals, and especially the Proposed Directive, have since caused intense debates by stakeholders, commentators, and the EU law-making bodies. 8