Copyright in the European Union: Influence of Interest Groups during the Creation of the Collective Rights Management Directive

The master's thesis focuses on the influence of interest groups during the creation of the 2012 Proposal for a Directive on collective rights management. In particular, the thesis deals with the pre-legislative phase of the legislative process, which began in April 2004. The theoretical framework includes conceptualization of interest groups, lobbying and influence. The mechanisms of influence are analysed using two theories - rational choice theory and rational choice institutionalism. The thesis utilizes process tracing - theory testing as a main methodological approach. Empirical evidence is investigated by analysing primary sources. The main subjects of the analysis are the most relevant documents from the European Commission concerning the pre-legislative phase. Four semi-structured interviews with selected relevant actors were also conducted. The thesis concludes by confirming/ disproving of the main hypothesis: Specific interest groups succeeded in influencing the text of the proposal for a directive on the collective management of copyright