AG Opinion

AG Opinion, Belgium, Case Law, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union, Infringement, Originality, Subject matter (copyrightable)

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Part I of this post provided an overview of the facts of the case and the recent opinion of AG Campos Sanchez-Bordona. Overall, the opinion is a mixed result. It makes some good points but also some ill-judged ones, and these will be explored in more detail in this post. Let us start with the positive…

AG Opinion, Belgium, Case Law, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union, Infringement, Subject matter (copyrightable)

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This case concerned the famous Brompton bicycle which can be folded to carry away after use (Case C‑833/18, SI, Brompton Bicycle Ltd. v. Chedech / Get2Get). The bike was once protected by a patent and, following its expiry, the defendant (Chedech/Get2Get) embarked on selling a similar bike in Belgium (the designs of the two bikes…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, Distribution (right of), European Union, Exhaustion

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On 10 September 2019, AG Szpunar delivered his opinion in Nederlands Uitgeversverbond and Groep Algemene Uitgevers v. Tom Kabinet (C-263/18), concerning the lawfulness of Tom Kabinet’s sale of second-hand e-books. The referring court asked the CJEU whether the supply of e-books by downloading for permanent use is covered by the right of distribution under Article…

AG Opinion, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union, Originality

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On 2 May 2019, Advocate General Szpunar delivered his opinion in Case C-683/17, Cofemel – Sociedade de Vestuário SA v. G-Star Raw CV (not yet available in English). The case concerned designs for t-shirts and jeans made by G-Star Raw. In essence, the question posed by the Portuguese Supreme Court is whether Member States have…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Moral rights

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On 10 January 2019, the Advocate General (AG) Szpunar delivered his opinion in the case Spiegel Online GmbH v Volker Beck (C 516/17).  Part I of this blogpost explored the AG’s stance in relation to the degree of latitude left to Member States when implementing copyright exceptions and the ambit of the news reporting exception…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Infringement

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On 10 January 2019, the Advocate General (AG) Szpunar delivered his opinion in the case Spiegel Online GmbH v Volker Beck (C 516/17). The case is part of a trilogy of preliminary references raised by the German courts focusing on copyright exceptions and the interaction of copyright law with fundamental rights (Pelham, C‑476/17 and Funke…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, Enforcement, European Union, Germany, Infringement, Legislative process, Liability, Neighbouring rights, Press Publishers ’ Right

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Just a few days before Christmas, Advocate General Hogan published his opinion that the German related right (neighbouring right) in favour of press publishers is unenforceable for formal reasons. In his view, it should have been notified to the European Commission before the law was passed in Germany. The final word is now with the…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Infringement, Reproduction (right of)

(Institute for Information Law (IViR)) and (University College Dublin)/ /2 Comments

On 12 December 2018 Advocate General (AG) Szpunar delivered his Opinion in Case C-476/17, Pelham. The case concerns the practice of sampling, i.e. the reproduction of minimal parts of a phonogram for the purposes of using it in another phonogram. As harmonized by EU law, the phonogram producer holds a related right of reproduction (Article…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Originality, Subject matter (copyrightable)

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The relation between freedom of expression and copyright in the EU is one of imprecision and uncertainty. In Funke Medien (Case C-469/17) the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) asks whether fundamental rights should permit the unauthorized use of military reports in the absence of an applicable copyright exception. In his Opinion, Advocate General (AG) Szpunar…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, Distribution (right of), European Union, Infringement, Sweden

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The right of distribution is the least controversial of the three exclusive rights contained in the Information Society Directive (InfoSoc Directive). Yet, every now and then the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is asked to re-examine its scope. With far less interpretative imagination compared with the right of communication to the public,…