International trade group Computer & Communications Industry Association has joined IGEL in order to stop the proposed neighbouring right for press publishers ('Leistungsschutzrecht'). James Waterworth, Head of CCIA's Brussels office, sent us the following statement:
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has long been concerned with policies expanding intellectual property rights in a way that endangers growth and innovation in the digital sphere, one of the most dynamic and promising sectors of the economy. This German proposal is designed to serve only a particular business sector without regard to the collateral damage for the German economy or the Digital Single Market. Additionally, the proposal is a serious threat to free speech as unquantifiable legal liabilities might dissuade internet platforms from showing results from the blogs of private citizens and smaller media groups.
CCIA's members range across computer, Internet, information technology, and telecommunications industries, including eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo.