Case Law

Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Italy, Private copying, Remuneration (equitable)

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Background, Facts, and Questions On 22 September 2016 the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’ or ‘Court’) ruled on Case C-110/15 – Microsoft Mobile Sales International and others. (The case was formerly known as Nokia Italia and Others before Nokia Italia SpA changed its name to Microsoft Mobile Sales International Oy.) This is yet…

Case Law, CJEU, Duration, European Union, Netherlands

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A full report of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law and the case has been discussed on the Kluwer Copyright Blog here. The Court of Justice of the European Union concluded that Directive 93/98/EEC harmonising the term of protection of copyright in the EU does not have the effect of restoring or…

Authorship, Case Law, France, Ownership

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A full report of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law. Article L.113-3 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the French Intellectual Property Code (‘IPC’) provides that a work of collaboration shall be the joint property of its authors, and that joint authors shall exercise their rights by common consent. The decisions relating to…

Case Law, Estonia, Exceptions and Limitations, Private copying, Remuneration (equitable)

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A full report of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law. In this landmark case, the Estonian Supreme Court analysed in detail the legal issues relating to equitable remuneration for the private copying exemption, concentrating on the legality of the regulation on the “blank tape levy” which was established in 2006, and had…

Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Netherlands, Remuneration (equitable)

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

Yes, e-lending can land itself a spot under the public lending right. That is what the European Court of Justice held in its preliminary ruling in the case between Vereniging Openbare Bibliotheken v. Stichting Leenrecht (10 November 2016, case C‑174/15). The decision clarifies the Rental and Lending Rights Directive’s scope of application. It is an…

Case Law, CJEU, Duration, European Union, Netherlands

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In a recent decision (case C-169/15), the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Directive 93/98/EEC harmonising the term of protection of copyright in the EU does not have the effect of restoring or reviving rights that, prior to its entry into force (1 July 1995), were for any reason in the…

Case Law, CJEU, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Infringement

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Decision of the German Bundesgerichtshof of July 28, 2016, file no. I ZR 9/15: “Auf fett getrimmt” (“trimmed to the fat”). In accordance with the CJEU decision in Deckmyn v. Vrijheidsfonds/Vandersteen (C-201/13), the Bundesgerichtshof (“BGH”) as Germany’s highest civil court supported a broad interpretation of the term “parody” in its recent decision “Auf fett getrimmt”,…

Brexit, Case Law, Database right, European Union, Exhaustion, Legislative process, United Kingdom

(Maastricht University) and (Maastrict University)/ /Leave a comment

Following a referendum on 23 June 2016, 51.9% of UK voters said “yes” to Brexit. British Prime Minister Theresa May revealed earlier this month that Article 50 TEU will be triggered by March 2017, marking the beginning of the formal withdrawal process. It is hard to predict the impact of Brexit on the current copyright…

Case Law, USA

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The federal district court in New York City correctly dismissed Joel R. McDonald’s amended complaint against musicians and record producers Kanye West, Shawn Carter (“Jay Z”), and others because the defendants’ song “Made in America” was not substantially similar to McDonald’s song with the same title, either in terms of lyrical content or musical structure,…

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

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Lawful acquirers of computer programs cannot resell back-up copies of the programs. This is according to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in case C-166/15 (Ranks/Vasiļevičs v. Finanšu un ekonomisko noziegumu izmeklēšanas prokoratūra/Microsoft Corp). The circumstances of the case were that two persons sold, on an online marketplace, used copies of computer…