CJEU, Damages, Enforcement, European Union, Infringement, Injunction, Legislative process, Liability, Remedies

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In an in-depth analysis for the European Parliament, the author has looked at liability of online service providers with regard to infringements concerning copyright protected content. In particular, the paper tries to answer the question of whether regulatory action is needed in relation to the liability of online service providers for copyright protected content. The…

Case Law, Performers' Rights, Portugal, Remedies, Remuneration (equitable)

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The Supreme Court confirmed that performing artists (performers) have a mandatory right to equitable remuneration from broadcasters or movie producers as consideration for the statutory assignment of most of their rights to broadcasters and producers.  Moreover, the Court declared that in award calculation two methods of fixing the amount of remuneration are possible: either as…

Case Law, Damages, Infringement, Liability, Portugal, Remedies

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The Court of Appeal confirmed that playing phonograms in a night club requires authorisation from and payment to the relevant right holders (performers and artists). On the question of damages, the Court confirmed that the award of punitive-like damages should be limited to cases of serious and repeated infringement. In the present case, as this…

Case Law, Damages, Estonia, Infringement, Making available (right of), Moral rights, Reimbursement, Remedies

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In this case, the Supreme Court of Estonia analyses the concept of the “hypothetical licence fee” under the Estonian Copyright Act, in accordance with Article 13(1)b) of the EU Enforcement Directive. The court is of the opinion that the “hypothetical licence fee” must be calculated based on the real value of the right of use…

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

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The exceptions for reporting of current events and quotation facilitate the functioning of the media. On 27 July 2017, the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) submitted several questions to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU or Court) on the balance between copyright exceptions and the fundamental freedoms of information and the media, as well as the…

Authorship, Case Law, Fair Use, Infringement, Originality, Ownership, USA

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The legal battle over who has the copyright claim to the pictures taken by a monkey has finally come to an end. The monkey self-portrait (“selfie”) dispute is a series of much discussed legal proceedings concerning photos taken in 2011 by a crested black macaque, Naruto, using equipment belonging to a British tourist (David Slater)…

Case Law, USA

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A jewelry designer’s “Buddha’s Kiss” earring was entitled only to “thin” copyright protection because there were a limited number of ways to design an earring containing the work’s single protectable idea—a teardrop-shaped earring incorporating the henna symbol for the word “kiss” and the shape of the Buddha—the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has…

Case Law, CJEU, European Union, Netherlands, Originality, Subject matter (copyrightable)

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Whether taste constitutes protectable subject-matter under EU copyright law is one of the questions which the CJEU will have to answer in the near future. Indeed, the Dutch Court of Appeals of Arnhem-Leeuwarden has, in the course of an appeal procedure (only available in Dutch), turned to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling on the…

Australia, Exceptions and Limitations, Legislative process

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During the last decade, Australia has seen a number of copyright reviews that have recommended various copyright reforms, some more extensive than others. To mention some of the most important: in 2014, the Australia Law Reform Commission recommended the adoption of fair use into Australian copyright law. In 2016, the Productivity Commission’s Report on Intellectual…

Case Law, USA

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The federal district court in Oakland did not err in rejecting conversion of intellectual property and other claims brought by the sons of late rock-and-roll concert-promoter Bill Graham against the executor of their father’s estate and the current owners of copyrights and a trademark previously owned by Graham’s company, the U.S. Court of Appeals in…