CJEU issued a rulling in case YouTube/Cyando
The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has finally (almost a year since the Advocate General opinion, on which IPI already reported) issued a ruling in joined cases C-682/18 (YouTube) and C-683/18 (Cyando), concerning platform liability for copyright-infringing user uploads under Art. 3(1) InfoSoc Directive. Even though the CJEU, in its ruling, refrained from engaging with the DSM Directive’s Article 17, the judgment is still highly significant, as it comms at a time when the fundamental rights compatibility of Art. 17 DSM Directive is in question, and very few Member States have implemented the DSM Directive, including Slovenia, where the public debate ended on 28th of June, 2021.
CJEU leaned toward the conclusion that neither YouTube nor Cyando performed acts of communication to the public (Art. 3(1) InfoSoc Directive). The CJEU concluded also that if a platform does directly perform copyright-restricted acts, then it is ineligible for the hosting safe harbour. Only if the platforms meet the requirements of the safe harbour will they be exempt from (at least intermediary or secondary) liability for copyright infringing acts of their users.
In its ruling, CJEU, following the approach it took in GS Media, had put a stronger focus on fundamental rights, by providing that Art. 3(1) requires a fair balance between the interests and fundamental rights of copyright holders, users and the general interest, in particular their freedom of expression and information (Art. 11 of EU Charter of Fundamental Rights). CJEU even seems to be moving closer to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which reiterates the particular importance of the internet for the freedom of expression and information enshrined in Art. 10(1) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
In this light, it will be interesting to follow the decision of the ECJ in Case C-401/19, which otherwise concerns Article 17 of the DSM Directive, and in which the Advocate General (AG) Saugmandsgaard Øe issued its Opinion on 15th of July, 2021.
The 4th Open Knowledge Day took place on Tuesday 17 October 2023, with an accompanying workshop on 18 October 2023. This year it was organised by the Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute (ODIPI) and supported by Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21).
We invite you to the fourth Open Knowledge Day and the workshop, which will take place this year within the framework of the programme and with the support of Knowledge Rights 21. The event will bring together experts from different European countries to discuss two topics: the first part will deal with the legal basis for data analytics, which is a key part of machine learning and related artificial intelligence, and the general exception for research. In the second part, open science in theory and practice will be presented both in Slovenia and in some Western Balkan countries. Representatives of research and educational institutions from Slovenia and the Western Balkan countries, as well as interested members of the public, are invited to attend.
Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič, a renowned expert in copyright law, has joined the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where she will serve as an affiliate researcher for the next two years.
On Friday, October 6, 2023, the online seminar “Practical Experiences in Resolving Copyrights of Modern Book Works” took place. The seminar addressed relevant questions concerning user access to literary works in digital form.