Music industry lobbyists are seeking changes to a directive that will put European copyright laws in line with the MP3 age.
The directive has been hotly debated for more than three years, but lobbyists feel the words "private use" in the directive are too vague.
Any measures that are approved at a hearing this week will go before the full European Parliament in mid-February. They will then be sent to European governments for ratification.
Analysts estimate the market for digital downloads to be worth around £190 million - as long as the law can stem the flow of unauthorised copies over the web.
Ms Francine Cunningham, spokeswoman for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, said the directive's current wording is too vague in its definition of what constitutes copying for "private use".
"We don't have a problem if someone copies a piece of music for the car or summer house or teenage daughter," she said.
"But we don't consider it to be private copying if you copy a piece of music and then e-mail it to 100 contacts on the internet."
-PA