We have so far seen a considerable (and increasing) discussion on AI and copyright infringement, especially in terms of how current exceptions such as TDM and fair use apply and whether new exceptions or remuneration models are needed. One question on which there has been little discussion is whether the reproduction right is triggered when…
Welcome back for the second part of the C-590/23 Pelham II hearing commentary. In part one (here), we covered the interpretation of pastiche. However, a very interesting topic arose in the Court’s pre-emptive questions, and during the oral questions: the interaction of “pastiche” with Article 17 CDSM Directive. This was not originally part of the…
On 14 January 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) heard oral arguments in the much-anticipated case C-590/23 Pelham II, where the German Federal Court submitted a request for preliminary ruling on the interpretation of “pastiche”. The purpose was to ascertain whether a two-second sample from a phonogram could fall under the…
There is news from Germany on the EU liability concept for indirect infringers. The German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof – BGH) has ruled on the liability of online marketplaces for copyright infringement by their users when uploading copyright infringing photographs. This is the BGH judgment of 23 October 2024 – I ZR 112/23 – Manhattan…
On 23 October 2024, the five-year dispute between Valve and UFC-Que Choisir has come to a close. With the French Supreme Court upholding the Paris Court of Appeal’s decision, and ruling that consumers cannot resell digital copies of videogames distributed online. Putting the final seal on the question of digital exhaustion in France, and ending…
The Robber Hotzenplotz is the title of a book series for children, written by Ottfried Preußler. The figure of robber Hotzenplotz is characterized on the book cover by a huge black hat, a red band and a feather. A political party incorporated the face of the Austrian city’s mayor into the drawing of robber…
With an order (Cass., ord. no.11413/2024) that suprisingly triggered little attention, at the end of last April the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) proffered yet once more its original approach and reading of the principles inspiring the EU copyright harmonization – and particularly of those developed by the CJEU case law. This time,…
The district court erred in taking the statute of limitations into account in determining who was the prevailing party. A defendant in a copyright infringement action is not the prevailing party for purposes of the attorney fee statute where the plaintiff has voluntarily dismissed its case without prejudice—even if that plaintiff would be barred by…
Generative AI (GenAI) is promising to revolutionise higher education. Whether it concerns legal scholars using ChatGPT to write their essays, computer science majors relying on GitHub Copilot to generate programming code, or art students turning to Midjourney to create visual artistry: the relevant AI tools to assist with educational assignments are readily available online. The…
The Digital Services Act (DSA) transparency database, while proving to be rather useless for misinformation or hate speech researchers, is very enlightening on copyright moderation. Platform governance researchers have long suspected that YouTube is the most heavily moderated platform on copyright issues, and we now have concrete proof of this. YouTube, to date, according to…
