Freedom of Panorama: European Parliament votes against restrictions

Past July 9th, the European Parliament voted 445 to 65 (with 32 abstentions) against a proposal to restrict the freedom of panorama in the European Union, maintaining the status quo.

Freedom of Panorama consists on a limit to Copyright Law and that permits someone to take photographs, make paintings or videos of other works that are permanently located in a public space (such as sculptures or architectural works), without the need to acquire a license that states the consent of the owner of the work that is displayed publicly.

The current European Copyright Directive provides that countries are free to implement or restrict the freedom of panorama in their own countries. In countries such as France, the creator of a new work that is primarily based on a publicly displayed work is required to have an authorisation of the author of the last work, however if the presence of the protected work is incidental, no such authorisation is required. In Italy, publishing photographs that depict cultural goods requires authorisation by public authorities.

Germany, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and others EU member-states do not impose limits on freedom of panorama, even if there are commercial uses.

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