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…
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…
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”,…
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…
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,…
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…
What is an appropriate royalty for a broadcaster to pay for the right to include music in its broadcasts? This is a question the UK Copyright Tribunal considered recently in a rather dry but comprehensive decision. The decision was under Section 126 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“CDPA”) relating to a dispute…
A federal district court improperly dismissed an enforcement action that a copyright holder had brought against an art editor under California’s Uniform Foreign Court Monetary Judgment Recognition Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled. The copyright holder sought recognition of a French judgment of infringement under the Uniform Recognition Act. Because…
The last two weeks were truly hard for the future of the digital economy in Europe. First, the European Commission officially declared its regulatory capture. Then the CJEU provided us with a great set of hyperlinking clarifications for their daily use. Now it is completely clear, who, when, and how one can link to avoid…
A provider that offers free unprotected Wi-Fi should not be held responsible when their users use the service to infringe copyright. This is according to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the long-running German case of Tobias McFadden v Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH (C-484/14). The circumstances of the case were…
