After two years of negotiations and several drafts, the provisions of the Directive 2014/26/EU on collective management of copyright and related rights were introduced into Greek legislation by the Law 4481/2017, which establishes a strict legal framework for the collective management organisations and places great emphasis on state control mechanisms. Additionally, Law 4481/2017 introduces a notice-and-takedown procedure as a sanction to the intermediaries (access providers or hosting service providers) and website owners for online violation of intellectual property and related rights. Although it is an attempt to swiftly resolve cases of violation through the internet, the unclear relation of this sanction system to the system laid down by the Law 2121/1993 on copyright and related rights creates several inconsistencies and legal issues. At the same time, the Committee on Internet Violations of Intellectual Property (CIVIP) established to implement the notice-and-takedown procedure lacks institutional integration in the public administration structure, a situation that undermines the effectiveness of its decisions and may annul the expected benefits of the new procedure in practice.
