The court held that the defendant did not infringe the claimant’s copyright or database rights beyond the infringements already admitted, as none of the defendant’s customers apart from one had access to the claimant’s software. A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law
The CJEU has recently ruled on yet another case seeking to determine the meaning of ‘communication to the public’, this time in the context of broadcasting television to patients in a rehabilitation centre (Reha Training Gesellschaft für Sport- und Unfallrehabilitation mbH v Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (GEMA), C-117/15). Readers will be aware…
The appeal court held that the diffusion of broadcast works as ambient music, by means of playing radio broadcasts through several loudspeakers in a fruit shop open to the public, was a mere reception and not a reuse of the broadcast works and therefore it did not require the authorisation of the copyright holders. A…
1. Introduction The internet has been a challenge for copyright since its advent two decades ago. Many questions have now been answered. It is surprising, however, that one of the main internet technologies, hyperlinking, is still the subject of hotly debated issues under EU copyright law, which the CJEU has yet to answer. 2. Linking…
The saga over the legality of the Google Books project finally came to an end on April 18, 2016, when the Supreme Court of the US refused to intervene in the case over alleged copyright infringement for scanning millions of books and making them searchable online. This was a final blow to authors’ representatives who…
The court held that the operators of a website and mobile applications had infringed the claimants’ copyright in TV broadcasts and films of cricket matches by allowing users to upload, view and share short clips of cricket match broadcasts. Fair dealing for the purposes of reporting current events in accordance with s30(2) CDPA did not…
Question referred to the Supreme Court by Stockholm District Court in a case between Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige ek.för. (BUS) vs Wikimedia Sverige (Case nr Ö 849-15) On 4th April 2016 the Supreme Court handed down its decision in a case between Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige (BUS) and Wikimedia Sverige. The question referred to the Supreme Court…
When a new disruptive innovation comes around, the question always arises as to whether the current legal regimes can provide answers to all potential legal questions arising out of such new technologies and their business cases. The process for obtaining legal certainty may take some time, especially with regard to computer related technology: e.g., whilst…
A. Introduction and Background In copyright law the term ‘communication to the public’ marks the boundary between use which has a copyright law relevance and use which does not. The interpretation of the term within EU member states is based on various EU directives. Of note however, is that the term communication to the public…
On the 7th of April AG Wathelet issued his Opinion in the GS Media case (C-160/15). The case concerned the provision by GS Media of hyperlinks that directed users to Filefactory.com, an Australian data-storage website. Users could then click on the following link, which would open a window that contained the button “DOWNLOAD NOW”. By…
