Communication (right of), Distribution (right of), Exhaustion, Making available (right of), Reproduction (right of)

(Institute for Information Law (IViR))/ /Leave a comment

As the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and ongoing discussions in the EU legislature illustrate, the economic rights granted to right holders under EU copyright law – the rights of reproduction, communication to the public and distribution – have become increasingly unpredictable. While the right of reproduction already covers almost every direct or…

Digital Single Market, European Union, Legislative process

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Here at the Kluwer Copyright Blog we are thrilled to have had the opportunity to ask Felix Reda MEP a few questions on the controversial Proposal for a Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive). But first, some background. The original proposal was submitted in November 2016 by the Commission. The ordinary…

Case Law, Exceptions and Limitations, Liability, Remuneration (equitable), Sweden

(Lindahl)/ /Leave a comment

The Supreme Court clarified the circumstances under which private copying levies should be paid by importers of cell phones, and reached the conclusion that if two technically independent devices have such a close connection that they together make up one device, such device could be subject to the provisions regarding private copying levies. Case date: 29…

Case Law, Collective management, Estonia, Exceptions and Limitations, Remuneration (equitable)

(Palladium Attorneys at Law)/ /Leave a comment

The Tallinn Circuit Court finally and definitively determined the action in the “blank tape levy” court case. This landmark court case had been pending since February 2013, when the authors’, performers’ and phonogram producers’ collecting societies initially filed their complaint against the Government of the Republic of Estonia. During the litigation, the case was reviewed…

Australia, Enforcement, Infringement, Remedies

(Macquarie Law School)/ /Leave a comment

Website blocking injunctions have been available in European countries for some years now. In the UK, the first case was brought in 2010 by a group of US movie studios against BT to block access to the Newzbin website. Since then, blocking injunctions have become popular in a number of EU countries, especially after their…

Digital Single Market, Enforcement, European Union, Infringement, Legislative process

(CREATe, University of Glasgow) and (Associate Professor of Media and Communication, University of Leeds)/ /Leave a comment

The European Union is working on a dramatic change to the regime that governs the liability of online intermediaries established with the E-Commerce Directive (Directive 2000/31/EC). Art. 14 offered a safe harbour for hosting service providers who do not have actual knowledge of infringing content and who, on obtaining such knowledge, act “expeditiously to remove…

Case Law, Digital Single Market, Exhaustion, Germany

(Lubberger Lehment )/ /Leave a comment

This post was first published on the Kluwer Trademark Blog In a judgement of April 2018, the Regional Court of Hamburg has ruled on the use of original advertising material by non-authorized dealers and on how trademark law can bypass copyright law (308 O 231/16). The plaintiff manufactures saddle bags and other high quality cycling…

Case Law, USA

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/ /Leave a comment

The dismissal of a copyright infringement plaintiff’s claims against music publisher Sony Corporation of America and other related defendants pursuant to a mandatory arbitration provision in the agreement that the plaintiff had signed upon entering Sony’s songwriting contest did not warrant an award of attorney fees to Sony as a prevailing party under the Copyright…

Collective management, European Union, Legislative process, Spain

(Elzaburu)/ /1 Comment

14 April 2018 saw the entry into force of Spanish Royal Decree-Law 2/2018, of 13 April, amending the wording of the Spanish Copyright Act. This reform transposes two Directives into Spanish law, namely: Directive 2017/1564 of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain permitted uses of certain works and other subject matter protected…