English: The European Commission is consulting on 'Freedom of Panorama' until 15 June 2016. Want to know more, check http://youcanfixcopyright.eu

This is a one-time opportunity to end the fact that copyright applies to images or drawings of buildings or monuments that are part of our panorama.

This Commission tries to collect input on the ‘panorama exception’, or as the EC puts it the “use of works, such as works of architecture or sculpture, made to be located permanently in public places”. In plain English, it’s all about the use of images of public space in a personal or commercial context. To clarify the latter, you need to see ‘commercial’ as a broad concept, when you think of the fact that Wikimedia is considered a commercial outlet or when posting on a blog or social media platform that includes advertising could be interpreted as commercial. The issue here is that there is an un-harmonised exception in the EU copyright legislation.