Yesterday, Julia Reda published a guest article on heise.de, emphasizing that obviously all attempts to avoid upload filters or to use them in a subordinate way which was were given up in a German legislative proposals. According to the minutes of the German government when it approved the EU reform in April 2019 and after all assurances and announcements to look for a rights-based solution, this is a political U-turn. We should demand again: “Community gets context – filter not!” in the upcoming political disputes on the new proposal.

More information on the new draft of the legislation was provided by Patrick Beuth in Spiegel on 17th of September. He referred in particular to Art. 15, the ancillary right for press publishers. Instead the planned “8 word rule” the new draft suggests the same wording like the EU copyright direction. Now the German draft has taken the same wording. “(U)se of single words or very short excerpts from a press publication” were to be permitted. The vague formulation could have a joyful resonance from media advocates, but nobody will get more legal security and it tightens the enforcement of the already questionable ancillary right law. While Google has no fear going into legal disputes, blogs and independent journalists are still in a difficult situation.