The French Supreme Court confirmed that a writ of summons for infringement of intellectual property rights must determine and specify the elements for which protection is sought, as well as the allegedly infringing acts. A writ of summons, such as that in the case at hand, which does not sufficiently describe or identify the work…
In a judgment of 17 March 2016, the Cour de cassation, the French Supreme Court, ruled that the judicial courts are required to assess and award compensation for private copying in situations where a decision of the Commission in charge of setting the fair compensation has been annulled. This judgment seems to mean that the…
On 4th May 2016, the European Commission published its Full report on the public consultation on the review of the EU Satellite and Cable Directive. The consultation, which was held from 24 August until 16 November 2015, focused on two main issues. First, the assessment of the current rules and, second, the possibility of the…
On 26 November 2015, the Spanish competition authority imposed a new fine on Spanish collecting societies. Two organisations were affected, the society that represents record companies (AGEDI) and the society representing music performers (AIE), who operate in their respective sectors without competition. In the opinion of the Spanish Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), the two…
The court of appeals confirmed that there had been infringement of copyright in the claimant’s photographs, and in doing so, clarified the requirements for the protection of photos as copyright works. The court provided guidance regarding lump sum compensation as an alternative to compensation by way of direct damages. A full summary of this case…
IN CASES OF INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, COMPENSATION FOR MORAL DAMAGES IS COMPATIBLE WITH PECUNIARY DAMAGES CALCULATED ON THE BASIS OF “HYPOTHETICAL ROYALTIES”. Judgment of the CJEU of 17 March 2016 in Liffers, C-99/15 BACKGROUND This CJEU decision stems from legal proceedings brought in Spain by Mr. Liffers, the director, screenwriter and producer of…
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…
The English High Court found that an App which allows users to upload, share and view 8 second clips of cricket matches and other sporting events (on a near-live basis) infringed the copyright in the television broadcasts of those matches, and the films made during the course of the production of those broadcasts. England And…
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…
By Martin Husovec, Tilburg University and Matej Gera, CIPPM, Bournemouth University Some will associate the year of 2016 with the year of the Fire Monkey or the monkey selfie. Not Slovak copyright scholars, whose government decided to engage in its own monkey business – an entirely new Copyright Act (Act No. 185/2015). Being the third…
