The European Commission is currently looking into ways in which it will be easier to use people’s intellectual property rights. The first aspect of this is investigating the ways in which businesses share technical standards. Some businesses limit the use of information that enable interoperability of technology products. The Commission wants to ensure that such information is shared, and on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
Another aspect of the Commission’s review involves looking at standardising the availability of online content across the European Union. The Commission is concerned that the EU market is fragmented, expensive, difficult and primitive, meaning that everyone suffers – from rights holders through to consumers. There is a particularly concern that users can buy music from any physical shop, but are restricted from purchasing music online from different jurisdictions. Removing the barriers would allow more trade and more user choice, the Commission says.