With 77 votes in favor and none against, the Assembly today approved in plenary session the draft law amending the 2016 law on copyright. The draft law was approved according to the final draft submitted by the Committee on Culture and Tourism, chaired by Democratic deputy Ina Zhupa; however, she too did not vote on the draft law, following the opposition’s boycott. Under the amended law, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and other platforms must obtain authorization for the use of protected works and respond when there is copyright infringement.
Likewise, international platforms operating in Albania without a headquarters here will now be required to have a legal representative in the country. The law also provides for strengthening the position of authors in contracts. They will have the right to be informed about how their works are used, how much income they generate, and to request a review of the contract in cases where they consider the remuneration unfair.
There will also be changes in the collective copyright management market, which aims to create more competition and more choice for creators. The law seeks to better protect the Albanian creator and to place more responsibility on platforms in line with European standards.
