European Union

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, Enforcement, European Union, Germany, Infringement, Injunction, Liability, Remedies

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On 16 March 2016 the CJEU’s Advocate General Szpunar handed down his Opinion in case C-484/14, Mc Fadden. The case concerns the liability of Tobias Mc Fadden, the owner of a business selling lighting and sound systems in Munich. Mr Mc Fadden operates a Wi-Fi hotspot on the business’ premises, deliberately left unprotected by a…

Case Law, European Union, Liability, Remedies

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On 2 February 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its first post-Delfi judgment on the liability of online service providers for the unlawful speech of others. Somewhat puzzlingly, the Court reached the opposite conclusion from that of last summer’s controversial Grand Chamber ruling, this time finding that a violation of Article 10…

Belgium, Case Law, CJEU, Collective management, European Union, Legislative process, Remuneration (equitable), Reproduction (right of)

(Marx, Van Ranst, Vermeersch & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Case C‑572/13, HP v. Reprobel, 12 November 2015 By Philippe Laurent and Céline Wulleman, Marx Van Ranst Vermeersch & Partners As we know, Member States may adopt exceptions to the reproduction right of authors in the cases and under the conditions listed in Article 5 of Directive 2001/29. Some of those exceptions may be transposed…

Case Law, Database right, European Union, Infringement

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In response to a reference from the Bundesgerichtshof (Germany), the CJEU ruled that geographical information extracted from a topographic map by a third party in order to produce and market another map retains, following its extraction, sufficient informative value to be classified as ‘independent materials’ of a ‘database’ within the meaning of Article 1(2) of…

Case Law, European Union, Infringement, Legislative process, Netherlands, Text and Data Mining (TDM)

(Institute for Information Law)/ /1 Comment

It is beyond dispute that Anne Frank’s diary is of great historical value. A recent Dutch court decision confirms this, in a case that perfectly illustrates the tension between freedom of scientific research and the enforcement of copyright. On the 23rd of December 2015, the District Court of Amsterdam handed down its ruling in a…

Case Law, CJEU, Communication (right of), Enforcement, European Union, Infringement, Liability, Remedies

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In response to a reference from the Brussels Court of Appeal, the CJEU held that Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC (the Infosoc Directive) must be interpreted as meaning that a broadcasting organisation does not carry out an act of “communication to the public” when it transmits its programme-carrying signals exclusively to signal distributors without those…

Case Law, Denmark, European Union, France, Germany, Legislative process, Netherlands, United Kingdom

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As we enter a new year, we would like to take this opportunity to pass on our best wishes for 2016 to all of our readers, as well as reflect on developments in copyright over the past year.  Last year was a busy one in the copyright world, with a number of landmark CJEU decisions,…

Digital Single Market, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Legislative process, Text and Data Mining (TDM)

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On December 9th 2015 the Commission revealed its plans for the modernisation of copyright law. The target is to adapt copyright law to technological challenges and to make it more European, digital friendly and functional in an EU digital single market. The Commission’s strategy focuses on the three key areas which have been identified by…

Case Law, Communication (right of), Digital Single Market, European Union, Infringement, Liability

(Institute for Information Law)/ /Leave a comment

Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC (the Infosoc Directive) must be interpreted as meaning that a broadcasting organisation does not carry out an act of “communication to the public” when it transmits its programme-carrying signals exclusively to signal distributors without those signals being accessible to the public (the “direct injection” technique). This judgment by the European…

CJEU, European Union

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Wolters Kluwer is proud to launch its new Kluwer Trademark Blog, our latest IP Law blog, in addition to the successful Patent and Copyright law blogs. Trademark law is constantly developing, especially in the European Union (EU). Ever since the introduction of European law and increasingly so after the harmonisation of European trademark law, the…