Belgian and French copyright laws ban photos of EP buildings

EUObserver reported on 4 November 2014 about copyright rules on pictures.

According to the article, while the Information Society Directive from 2001 contains a clause which states that photos of architectural projects in public spaces can be taken free of charge, such rule is optional and therefore some countries - Belgium, France and Italy - decided not to transpose it into national law.

This resulted in different rules across the European Union: while in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia, for example, it is fine to take photos of public buildings so long as the images are not sold, no one can publish photos of public buildings in Belgium, like the Atomium, or France’s Eiffel tower at night without first asking permission from the rights owners. The same appliesto the buildings of the European Parliament in Brussels and in Strasbourg.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society http://www.europeansources.info/record/directive-2001-29-ec-of-the-european-parliament-and-of-the-council-of-22-may-2001-on-the-harmonisation-of-certain-aspects-of-copyright-and-related-rights-in-the-information-society/

ESO: Background information: Adapting the EU copyright rules to the digital transformation http://www.europeansources.info/record/adapting-the-eu-copyright-rules-to-the-digital-transformation/

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