Decision Landgericht (District Court) Hamburg of November 18, 2016 (file no. 310 O 402/16) Introduction In GS Media vs. Sanoma, the CJEU recently ruled that linking to illegal content may be considered to be a “communication to the public” and can therefore constitute copyright infringement (C-160/15 of 8 September 2016). The District Court Hamburg has…
The Latvian Supreme Court has recently ruled on the determination of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages for copyright infringement in a case where the copyright works had been used for informatory purposes. Case No. SKC-[B]/2016 was adjudicated in a closed hearing, as a result of which the number of the case file and the date of…
In Phonographic Performance Ltd v Hagan & Ors (t/a Lower Ground Bar and the Brent Tavern) [2016] EWHC 3076 (IPEC) HHJ Hacon considered the interplay of s.97(2) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) and art.13(1) of Directive 2004/48/EC on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (the Enforcement Directive) when awarding additional damages…
The American Vimeo case, decided on June 16, 2016, broadens the exemption for internet service providers (ISPs) in cases of copyright infringement by platform users. Meanwhile, the European Union seeks a narrower approach to excluding ISPs from liability. How do the two approaches differ? The Vimeo case The Vimeo case concerned a collective claim by…
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”,…
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…
GS Media – the questions The ‘linking saga’ initiated by the Svensson decision of the CJEU back in 2014 has taken a new turn with today’s GS Media judgment. Of course, it would be more appropriate to call it a ‘communication to the public’ saga, but I suspect that the origin of the Svensson decision…
The Conseil d’Etat, the French administrative Supreme Court, ordered the French Prime Minister to take regulatory measures to indemnify the ISPs (Internet service providers) for the costs incurred when the HADOPI Commission requires them to provide information relating to internet users who have or are likely to have infringed copyright law. A full summary of…
On 7 July 2016, the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) handed down its decision in Tommy Hilfiger (case C-494/15). The case concerned the imposition of an injunction on Delta Center, a company that sublets sales areas in the “Prague Market Halls” (Pražská tržnice) to traders, after it was found that counterfeit goods…
German Federal Constitutional Court’s decision of 31 May 2016, (ref.: 1 BvR 1585/13): Metall-auf-Metall Sampling technology has become an integral part of today’s music production. It is not unusual in recording studios for artists and producers to recall sounds from other artist’s productions which they particularly liked, copy them from the original recordings and use…
