Collective management, Enforcement, Greece, Infringement, Legislative process, Liability, Remedies

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The draft law for the implementation in Greece of Directive 2014/26/EU on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market, which was released for public consultation a few days ago, contains a surprise provision, which has the potential to reverse the…

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, Database right, European Union, Infringement

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On October 29th 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in the case C‑490/14, Freistaat Bayern v Verlag Esterbauer GmbH. The Court was called upon to clarify the definition of “database” in Directive 96/9 on the legal protection of databases. It is noteworthy that the Database Directive, one of the…

Digital Single Market, European Union, Legislative process

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On May 6th, 2015 the European Commission revealed its eagerly anticipated plans for the EU digital single market. The EU Digital Market strategy, which aims to open up digital opportunities for individuals and businesses and enhance Europe’s position as a world leader in the digital economy, is built on three pillars: (1) better access for…

Case Law, Database right, European Union

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The CJEU’s interpretative work on copyright law issues launched in 2015 with the decision of 15 January in the case of Ryanair Ltd v PR Aviation BV (Case C‑30/14). The Ryanair ruling is the latest stone added to the complex edifice of legal protection of databases in Europe. PR Aviation operates a website which allows…

Digital Single Market, European Union, Jurisdiction, Legislative process

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“The first question (territoriality) and the last question (single EU copyright title) could be considered as the alpha and the omega of the questionnaire and they are interlinked in various ways.” A public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules was launched by the European Commission a few  days ago .  The consultation refers…

Enforcement, Exceptions and Limitations, Jurisdiction, Legislative process, Remuneration (equitable)

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“The road to Marrakesh is open but is not paved with roses and the outcome of the negotiations is awaited with both hope and reservations. “ While some statistics demonstrate that only about 5% of all published books are available in accessible formats for print disabled people globally, 2013 promises to be a landmark year…

Case Law, Greece, Infringement, Jurisdiction, Liability

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“This finding could have been considered predictable, if it wasn’t for  a special provision in the Greek Constitution that safeguards participation in the information society.” Is obliging ISPs to cut off internet access to specific copyright infringing websites compatible with the Greek Constitution? That is one of the main questions that were answered by the…

Case Law, European Union, Infringement, Jurisdiction

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“The ruling confirms the exclusion of ideas from software copyright protection and enlightens certain grey zones of the Software Directive.” The protection of computer programs is one of the nicest paradoxes of copyright law. Even if the protection of the computer programs as literary works has been established in the European and in the international…

Enforcement, European Union, Jurisdiction, Legislative process

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What would be the ingredients of a magic formula for better IPR enforcement on the Internet? Has the time come for a horizontal harmonization for notifying and acting on illegal on line content? In a period where the ratification of ACTA is ranked highly in the political agenda of European governments, the European Commission is…