September 15, 2016
Hyperlinking is Lawful, says CJEU, BUT…
Hyperlinking is Lawful, says CJEU, BUT…
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recently provided a landmark ruling on copyright-protected works shared via hyperlinks in the case GS Media v Sanoma (C-160/15). The CJEU’s decision follows the Advocate General’s opinion (see here) that there was no “communication to the public” (and therefore no infringement) where the material was already available to the public. In GS Media, the CJEU took things a step further and held that there was a “communication to the public” if it could be established that (i) the person posting knew / ought to have known that the hyperlink allowed users to access copyright-infringing material; and (ii) did so for financial gain. The CJEU’s decision is welcomed for its common sense approach in keeping content sharing open to all whilst clamping down on knowing copyright infringers. However, the difficult part for brand owners now will be establishing that alleged infringer knew that the hyperlink had been published illegally. How the courts go about deciding this fact remain to be seen… Stobbs has significant experience in online brand enforcement and advises clients on a range of intellectual property enforcement issues. If you’d like to discuss your brand protection further, please get in touch.
Tags
Online Brand Enforcement /  Tech /  Designs & Copyright /  Arts & Entertainment

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