As we enter a new year, we would like to take this opportunity to pass on our best wishes for 2025 to all of our readers, as well as reflect on developments in copyright over the past year. Last year was another busy one in the copyright world, with an increasing focus on the relationship…
Introduction The 2019 Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM) Directive is a complex legislative text that raises several questions of legal interpretation. Increasingly, these questions are making their way to national courts. A recent example is the Dutch case ruled upon by the Amsterdam District Court (“the court”) on 30 October 2024. The plaintiffs…
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…
Now that 2024 is behind us, it’s time to report on the fourth trimester. Here is our final roundup of that AI-rich year. This post marks the fourth year of running this series on our blog. In it, we provide updates on key developments in EU copyright law from October to December 2024, covering everything…
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…
This post was first published on the Europeana Pro website. The out of commerce works ‘legal solution’ simplifies rights clearance, helping cultural heritage institutions to make materials from their collections that are not in commercial circulation available online. In some circumstances, it requires concluding a licence with a collective management organisation – Europeana Copyright…
Ministers from six European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, The Netherlands and Sweden) have written a joint letter to the European Commission regarding the need for a legislative proposal on rules and boundaries of international application of EU law on copyright and neighbouring rights. The English version of the letter is available here. The letter…
The European AI Office is currently facilitating the drawing-up of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice (the “Code”). The European Commission published the first draft of the Code on 14 November 2024. Further drafts are to be prepared, with the final version of the Code forecast to be released by 2 May 2025, in accordance…
A few weeks ago, the Spanish Ministry of Culture released a legislative proposal aimed at introducing extended collective licensing (ECL) for the development of general-purpose AI models. The first of its kind, the “Draft Royal Decree to regulate the granting of extended collective licenses for the massive exploitation of works and other subject matter protected…
The long-awaited and much anticipated judgment of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (“IPEC”) in Waterrower (UK) Limited v Liking Limited (t/a TOPIOM) [2024] EWHC 2086 (“WaterRower”) was finally handed down last month. IP practitioners and the wider design community have been eagerly awaiting the decision as it was expected to be the first UK decision…
