The Ministry of Justice sent the draft bill out for approval, receiving extensive feedback from the Estonian Writers' Union among others. Writers argue that, like authors of audio and audiovisual works, they too have a right to fair compensation.

"Writers, as authors, have no way of receiving fair remuneration when their works, such as books, are copied free of charge for private use. In practice, the only way writers can receive compensation is if they have contributed to the creation of an audiovisual work or audio recording — for example, by writing lyrics or a film script. In addition, the law does not clarify whether authors and performers are entitled to remuneration when works such as radio plays, audiobooks and other similar audio content are reproduced for personal use," the writers wrote to the ministry.

Restricting writers' right to compensation is not in line with European Union law, a representative of the Writers' Union said.

The writers pointed out that in several European countries, including Germany, Spain, Austria, Latvia and Lithuania, writers are entitled to compensation when their works are copied for personal use.

The Writers' Union also believes that private copying fees should be increased and that the list of devices and media subject to the fee should be updated — adding, for example, cloud storage platforms and refurbished electronic devices.

Ministry: Proposal will not be considered, but room for discussion

The Ministry of Justice responded to the writers, stating that the current bill does not expand the private copying exception to cover new types of works. However, the ministry expressed willingness to discuss the issue outside the scope of the draft legislation and to involve various interest groups in the process.

Maarja Kangro, head of the Estonian Writers' Union, who brought the issue to public attention on social media, said that writers plan to make use of the bill's piecemeal legislative process. "We're hopeful that we can get a foot in the door during that time. The minister of culture has also reached out to us. We intend to discuss the bill with the Ministry of Justice and the Estonian Authors' Society," Kangro told ERR.

According to Kangro, writers strongly oppose limiting the law to only audio and audiovisual works. "If necessary, we'll take to the streets in protest, but for now it seems we can resolve this in the offices," she said.

Kangro said it was too early to speculate on how much compensation writers could receive if their works were included. "Those are technical questions and it's too soon to discuss them," she said.

The government introduced the draft bill to amend the Copyright Act on November 10, which includes the development of a distribution plan for private copying compensation. The bill is expected to reach the Riigikogu in mid-December.

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