On 12 September 2019, the CJEU held that according to article 2(a) of Directive 2001/29 (the InfoSoc Directive), Member States’ copyright laws can no longer protect models (in other words works of applied art or designs) on the ground that, beyond their utilitarian purpose, they generate a distinctive and significant visual effect from an aesthetic…

This October one year will have passed since the legal acts transposing the provisions of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled became applicable in EU Member States. Regulation 2017/1563 on the cross-border exchange between the Union and third countries of accessible…

Introduction and background Most internet pages are put together from different elements and can include text, pictures or videos which are originally displayed on websites and stored on servers of third parties. Visitors to the internet page usually cannot distinguish between content that is stored on servers controlled by the webpage owner and that stored…

Part I of this blogpost was dedicated to the background which led to Articles 8-11 of the CDSM and to the concept of out of commerce works. Part II critically overviews the core of the mechanisms established by the Directive. The dual regime of the Directive The crux of the provisions certainly lies in the…

In Part I of this two-part post on Chapter 3 of the new Copyright Directive, I argued that Articles 18-23 were well-intentioned. It is now up to Member States to send clear signals of support to their creative community by not rendering these provisions ineffective. In addition, while there is ample opportunity to harmonise creator-protective…

Articles 8-11 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSM) aim to establish a clear framework for the digitisation and dissemination, including across borders, of works or other subject matter that are considered to be out of commerce. Mass digitisation and the making available online of copyright protected content brought new dimensions…

Art. 2(2) of the DSM Directive defines ‘text and data mining’ as “any automated analytical technique aimed at analysing text and data in digital form in order to generate information which includes but is not limited to patterns, trends and correlations”. Text and data mining (TDM) generally refers to the computer-based analysis of large bodies…

Chapter 3 of Title IV of the Directive encompasses a set of six articles specifically directed at authors and performers (henceforth ‘creators’). For many industry stakeholders, this set of articles goes hand in hand with the controversial article 17 (most recently discussed on the blog here, here and here). In conversation with Crispin Hunt, Chair…

According to Article 14 of Directive (EU) 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (CDSM Directive), “when the term of protection of a work of visual art has expired, any material resulting from an act of reproduction of that work is not subject to copyright or related rights, unless the material…