Opposition To EU Copyright Directive Strengthens. Negotiations over the implementation of the EU Copyright Directive broke down after the proposal faced fresh opposition. As The Verge reported, six additional member states broke rank to join the opposition, bringing the total number of opposing countries to 11. Of particular controversy are Articles 11 and 13 of the Directive, “which critics have dubbed ‘the link tax’ and ‘upload filter.’” MEP Julia Reda noted that public outcry played a crucial role in raising awareness of the potentially damaging effects of the proposal, and said without it, “the proposal would already have been adopted.” With a limited number of plenary sessions left this year for the Directive to reach a vote before EU elections in May, the proposal’s future is now more uncertain than ever.

Google Tests How Article 11 Will Impact Search Results. Search Engine Land obtained screenshots of how Google news search results would be impacted by the EU Copyright Directive’s Article 11. The screenshots show links but no copy, images or full titles: “In fact they look like pages that have failed to completely load.” In a December blog post, Google’s News VP Richard Gingras explained that Article 11 will put search engines “in the position of picking winners and losers” when it comes to showing news content.

Entertainment And Tech Industry Agree: Stop Article 13. Along with more than four million Europeans and the technology industry, a new collection of sports, entertainment and media groups just jumped on the bandwagon to oppose Articles 11 and Article 13. Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow reported on how movie studios and record labels are now denouncing Article 13 — legislation that was written to benefit them. The entertainment industry would “risk the whole thing going down in flames rather than tolerate the symbolic gestures to compromise” that have been attempted in recent weeks.

OTW Asks Fans To Help Highlight Meaning Of Fanworks In Their Lives. In the lead up to International Fanworks Day on February 15, the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) will be featuring submissions on the topic “What fanworks mean to me.” The organization has invited the broader fan community to either post their responses using the hashtag #WhatFanworksMeanToMe or submit longer essays to potentially be featured on the OTW blog.

Fair Use Loses In TVEyes Vs. Fox News Settlement. Marking the end of five years of legal back-and-forth, The Verge reported that TVEyes and Fox News reached a settlement prohibiting any distribution of the network’s broadcasts by the clip streaming and monitoring service. Calling the settlement “a blow to journalists”, the article also pointed out that members of Congress and other professionals rely on TVEyes to analyze, compare and evaluate coverage across networks.