Books,accessing culture;legislation applying to books- nr 22

Kasia

European Union actively supports books and reading
New methods of distributing literary works - via digital technologies.

Ariane-first programme to support books. The aim of the Ariane programme was to encourage cooperation between Member States in the field of books and reading and to increase the knowledge and dissemination of literary works and the history of the European peoples.

Ariane programme was be replace by the Culture 2000 programme. Examples of Culture 2000 financing:
-meetings between writers and readers
-festivals of tales or poetry
-european networks of dramatists and websites providing information on literature

User-friendly information society programme:
-Libraries (play an important role in the dissemination of culture)
-databases of literary works accessible via the Internet, ( Debora project for digital access to books of the Renaissance)
-focus on remote applications for libraries

Project Calimera (since 2003) - local cultural establishments to collaborate among themselves as well as with local and national authorities and professional networks

Books are subject to European competition law and single-market legislation
European Commission -> application of Community rules, as required by Article 151 (4) of the Treaty on European Union.

State aid - designed to promote culture and preserve heritage
-authorised by the Commission if it does not affect trading conditions and competition (Article 87 of the Treaty)

Lending right
-Public libraries - wider access to reading
-Protection of the author’s rights (Directive of 19 November 1992) - rental right and lending right (allowing authors to prohibit or authorise the lending)
-Member States may exempt from the lending right certain categories of books.

The sale of books - value added tax (VAT) (since 1997)
-tax applicable to internet distributed books

February 2001 Resolution - "New frontiers in book production: electronic publishing and printing on demand"
Publishing industry -> to adapt to the new digital age (community helps)
The European Commission's eEurope initiative :
-exploit all the new opportunities (Internet and information technologies)
-supports the production of European digital content
-electronic publishing sector experiments
-technologies -> management of copyright and the sale of literary works on-line
-TEL project (The European Library) -> digital library in several languages