AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, Collective management, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, France, Remuneration (equitable)

(Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition)/ /Leave a comment

The prior express consent of the author is necessary to use a copyright work under EU law; the statutory presumption of collective management of copyright doesn’t comply with the need for express prior consent, even with an opt-out possibility and for a legitimate objective, Advocate General Wathelet said in his opinion on the pending request…

Case Law, CJEU, Czech Republic, Enforcement, European Union, Infringement, Injunction, Liability, Remedies

(CIPIL, University of Cambridge)/ /Leave a comment

On 7 July 2016, the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) handed down its decision in Tommy Hilfiger (case C-494/15). The case concerned the imposition of an injunction on Delta Center, a company that sublets sales areas in the “Prague Market Halls” (Pražská tržnice) to traders, after it was found that counterfeit goods…

European Union, Poland

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Since the information transmitted over the internet is often embodied in copyright works, some right owners consequently claim the right to control or at least to participate in the corresponding revenues. They direct their claims to intermediaries at different layers of the network or directly to users. Intermediaries often invoke legal defences such as the…

Case Law, Germany, Infringement, Neighbouring rights

(Boehmert & Boehmert)/ /Leave a comment

German Federal Constitutional Court’s decision of 31 May 2016, (ref.: 1 BvR 1585/13): Metall-auf-Metall Sampling technology has become an integral part of today’s music production. It is not unusual in recording studios for artists and producers to recall sounds from other artist’s productions which they particularly liked, copy them from the original recordings and use…

Case Law, USA

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

A seller of karaoke equipment whose insurance carrier paid over $1 million to music publishers to settle infringement claims over the alleged unlicensed distribution of song recordings, in exchange for dismissal of the claims with prejudice, was not the “prevailing party” for purposes of the Copyright Act’s fee-shifting provision, the U.S. Court of Appeals in…

Case Law, Collective management, Distribution (right of), Infringement, Norway

(Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law)/ /Leave a comment

The Norwegian Supreme Court confirmed that the distribution of copyright protected works via music channels was a distribution that required clearance from the rightholder.  The judge held that when a distribution happens as a consequence of signals being taken down from a satellite transmission not meant for the public, as in the case under consideration, there is…

Case Law, Contract, Estonia, Liability, Ownership, Subject matter (copyrightable)

(Palladium Attorneys at Law)/ /Leave a comment

In this case the court took the position that the non-transfer of economic copyright in a draft building plan did not constitute a breach of the contract of services for designing a construction project if this condition had not been explicitly agreed between the parties. It followed that the transfer of economic copyright must be…

Case Law, European Union

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

Good news for copyright aficionados who (like me) rather read their copyright law from hard copies than from screens. After a ten-year wait the second edition of Concise European Copyright Law (a.k.a. “Concise Copyright”) was finally published earlier this year. If you liked the ‘little blue book’ that first came out in 2006, you will…

Brexit, Enforcement, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Infringement, 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 some very topical copyright law issues.  We are very grateful to Felix for sparing time in his busy schedule to do the interview, and here’s what he had to say: 1. In…