Tuesday 11 February 2014

What will the CJEU decide in Svensson? A snap katpoll

Less than 48 hours left before the Court of Justice of the European Union deliver its keenly awaited judgment in Case C-466/12 Svensson [here], a reference for a preliminary ruling from Sweden seeking clarification - among other things - as to whether providing a 'clickable link' falls within the scope of copyright protection. 

In particular, is a hyperlink tantamount to an act of communication to the public pursuant to Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive which, as a result, requires the authorisation of the relevant copyright holder?

Question #1 in Svensson reads as follows:

"If anyone other than the holder of copyright in a certain work supplies a clickable link to the work on his website, does that constitute communication to the public within the meaning of Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society?"

The IPKat and Merpel have just launched a poll asking readers what answer the CJEU is likely to provide to this question. In particular:

HOW WILL THE CJEU RULE ON THE LEGALITY OF HYPERLINKS?

You have time until Thursday 13 February at 8.30 am BST to cast your vote. You can do so by selecting your preferred option at the top of the IPKat left hand side bar. DO VOTE!

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