The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has warned its members to closely monitor the implementation of the European directive on copyright in order to avoid the "Croatian scenario" and the possible denial of part of income to journalists through the introduction of new legislation.

Some governments, like in Croatia, are trying to circumvent the spirit of the directive by denying journalists the income they should get, the EFJ warns in a press release carried by the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) on Friday.

A few days ago, EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård sent the Croatian government a letter in which he expressed concern over certain articles of a copyright and related rights bill, according to which journalists’ copyrights in Croatia will significantly deviate from the European acquis.

The proposed implementation of the directive on copyright in Croatian legislation does not provide sufficient protection of authors’ rights and is an abuse of the implementation of the directive to give greater rights to publishers to the detriment of authors, the letter said.

For example, the bill does not include the work of journalists in the category of copyrighted works to be protected, although the directive regulates the position of journalists as authors of a priority group which should benefit from publishing rights. It is also underscored that the fee arising from copyright is crucial for freelance journalists.

Copyrights belong by their nature to the one who creates the work. That is also stated in the current Copyright and Related Rights Act. Signatures of authors of texts, photographs and other works are very important because they underline the credibility and responsibility behind them, which is especially important in the case of media outlets.

Copyright infringement can cause flood of fake news

The directive protects both sides, and that is why it applies to authors and publishers. The EFJ thus recommends that is members maintain the copyright regime of the European acquis, which is followed by almost all member states and which ensures equal rights for authors and publishers, the letter said.

The EFJ recommends that model since authors, including journalists, must be able to protect their moral rights, and they significantly affect the trust in journalism and media outlets. The rights of their authors are therefore an indispensable tool for providing reliable data.

In the Anglo-American copyright system, journalists cannot exercise those rights, which is one of the main reasons fake news are spreading and are more prevalent in countries which do not follow the model of authors’ rights, the EFJ underscored.