Exceptions and Limitations

Exceptions and Limitations to copyright are provisions which allow for works protected by copyright to be used in specific situations without a licence from the copyright owner. There are numerous limitations and exceptions found in copyright legislation including, for example, the fair use exception, exceptions for libraries, archives and educational institutions, and the back-up copy exception.

Digital Single Market, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Legislative process, Text and Data Mining (TDM)

, (Université Catholique de Louvain)/ /1 Comment

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools raises possible issues of bias, discrimination and transparency that need to be investigated by (legal) researchers. But AI tools can also support the implementation of legal principles and rules. This is the case with smart disclosure systems (SDSs). The latter refers “to the timely release of complex information…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Moral rights

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On 10 January 2019, the Advocate General (AG) Szpunar delivered his opinion in the case Spiegel Online GmbH v Volker Beck (C 516/17).  Part I of this blogpost explored the AG’s stance in relation to the degree of latitude left to Member States when implementing copyright exceptions and the ambit of the news reporting exception…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Infringement

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On 10 January 2019, the Advocate General (AG) Szpunar delivered his opinion in the case Spiegel Online GmbH v Volker Beck (C 516/17). The case is part of a trilogy of preliminary references raised by the German courts focusing on copyright exceptions and the interaction of copyright law with fundamental rights (Pelham, C‑476/17 and Funke…

Case Law, CJEU, Digital Single Market, Enforcement, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Infringement, Legislative process, Liability, Netherlands, Originality, Press Publishers ’ Right, Text and Data Mining (TDM)

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As we enter a new year, we would like to take this opportunity to pass on our best wishes for 2019 to all of our readers, as well as reflect on developments in copyright over the past year.  Last year was a busy one in the copyright world, with a number of landmark CJEU decisions,…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Infringement, Reproduction (right of)

(Institute for Information Law (IViR)) and (University College Dublin)/ /2 Comments

On 12 December 2018 Advocate General (AG) Szpunar delivered his Opinion in Case C-476/17, Pelham. The case concerns the practice of sampling, i.e. the reproduction of minimal parts of a phonogram for the purposes of using it in another phonogram. As harmonized by EU law, the phonogram producer holds a related right of reproduction (Article…

AG Opinion, Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Exceptions and Limitations, Germany, Originality, Subject matter (copyrightable)

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The relation between freedom of expression and copyright in the EU is one of imprecision and uncertainty. In Funke Medien (Case C-469/17) the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) asks whether fundamental rights should permit the unauthorized use of military reports in the absence of an applicable copyright exception. In his Opinion, Advocate General (AG) Szpunar…

Colombia, Duration, Enforcement, Exceptions and Limitations, Legislative process

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The new Colombian Copyright Act bill brings different and important modifications. The following points explain the most significant changes: Copyright Duration has Increased for Legal Persons: The copyright and neighboring rights duration for legal persons has increased from 50 to 70 years. The 70-year term is counted from the year following the date of publication,…

Austria, Case Law, Enforcement, Exceptions and Limitations, Infringement, Liability, Remedies

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According to the Vienna Commercial Court, YouTube is not a mere host provider. Host providers are privileged, and shall not be liable for information stored if the provider does not have actual knowledge of illegal activity or information, and the provider immediately removes or blocks information when it becomes aware of the illegal content. According…

Case Law, Exceptions and Limitations, Liability, Remuneration (equitable), Sweden

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The Supreme Court clarified the circumstances under which private copying levies should be paid by importers of cell phones, and reached the conclusion that if two technically independent devices have such a close connection that they together make up one device, such device could be subject to the provisions regarding private copying levies. Case date: 29…

Case Law, Collective management, Estonia, Exceptions and Limitations, Remuneration (equitable)

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The Tallinn Circuit Court finally and definitively determined the action in the “blank tape levy” court case. This landmark court case had been pending since February 2013, when the authors’, performers’ and phonogram producers’ collecting societies initially filed their complaint against the Government of the Republic of Estonia. During the litigation, the case was reviewed…