Through an assessment of the originality requirement, this work guides the reader in interpreting judicial decisions which are of fundamental importance to current and future understanding of EU copyright. The book�s holistic approach and methodology t

. . . an important contribution to the study of EU copyright law. It provides a good overview of different aspects of copyright law in the European Union and comprises a prevailing guide which undoubtedly will be of great use to both academics and practitioners. Ghufran Sukkaryeh, European Intellectual Property Review Estelle Derclaye s book is indeed a Handbook on EU copyright law, since practically every aspect of copyright law is examined through the lens of EU law by foremost European specialists. But it goes further than providing an understanding of what has been and ought to be happening in EU copyright law: each chapter can touch a raw nerve in the copyright law of any country in the world. Rarely has it been so obvious that EU copyright law can be considered a laboratory for copyright law in general. Ysolde Gendreau, Université de Montréal, Canada It has been over fifteen years since the EU started harmonising copyright law. This original Handbook takes stock and questions what the future of EU copyright should be. What went wrong with the harmonisation acquis? What did the directives do well? Should copyright be further harmonised? Each of the 25 recognised copyright experts from different European countries gives a critical account of the EU harmonisation carried out on several aspects of copyright law (subject-matter, originality, duration, rights, defences etc.), and asks whether further harmonisation is desirable or not. This way, the Handbook not only gives guidance to European institutions as to what remains to be done or needs to be remedied but is also the first overall picture of current and future EU copyright law. This Handbook will be of great interest to academics and intellectual property lawyers, as well as general commercial lawyers, across Europe because it reviews European directives in the field of copyright and also the relationships between copyright and other laws. Policymakers will also find much to interest them in the discussions regarding the future of EU copyright law and the proposed amendments to the existing legal framework.

Over the last few years, political and academic attention has focused on the future of copyright at the EU level. Following two decades of piecemeal legislative interventions, which have resulted in a limited harmonisation of the copyright laws of EU Member States, a debate has ensued as to the feasibility and desirability of achieving full copyright harmonisation at the EU level. This might be obtained either through a EU copyright code, encompassing a codification of the present body of EU copyright directives, or by way of a regulation (to be enacted pursuant to new Article 118(1) TFEU), aimed at creating an optional unitary copyright title. Thus far, however, no such legislative initiatives have been undertaken. Despite this impasse, the CJEU has notably been acting in a proactive way, inching towards full harmonisation. With its 2009 decision in Case C-5/08 Infopaq, the Court provided a EU-wide understanding of an important principle of copyright: the originality requirement. The CJEU further elaborated upon this in subsequent case law (notably, Case C-393/09 Bezpečnostní Softwarová Asociace, Joined Cases C-403/08 and C-429/08 Murphy, Case C-145/10 Painer, Case C-604/10 Football Dataco and Case C-406/10 SAS). The meaning of originality adopted by the CJEU as a EU-wide standard is akin to that envisaged in continental Member States' copyright laws, thus differing from the loose notion of originality under UK law. As such, an examination as to the implications of CJEU harmonising jurisprudence in this Member State shall be undertaken, with regard to the scope of copyright protection and subject-matter categorisation. Overall, this contribution wishes to assess how, and to what extent, CJEU case law has resulted in de facto EU copyright harmonisation. In addition, it will attempt to foresee the fate of EU copyright in light of copyright reform projects which are currently being discussed in political and academic circles both in the US and Europe.

EU Copyright Law is a seminal commentary work from a team of leading experts in the field combining aspects of theory and practice and placing copyright in perspective. It will be an indispensable reference tool for academics, researchers, practitioner

This second edition is a timely presentation of the state-of-the-art in copyright research. Copyright law is currently at the centre of many debates and the subject of substantive new developments. The new edition of the Research Handbook captures these fast moving developments and goes far beyond a mere update of the chapters. All of the topical chapters are completely new and the authors have been chosen for their expertise and excellence in the areas concerned. Research Handbook on Copyright Law offers global coverage, both in terms of substance and in terms of author expertise, and maps both the present and future of the discipline. It will prove an invaluable research tool for all those involved in copyright research who wish to keep up with the pace at which this area of law is evolving.

The Routledge Handbook of EU Copyright Law provides a definitive survey of copyright harmonization in the European Union, capturing the essential and relevant issues of this relatively recent phenomenon. Over the past few years, two themes have emerged: on the one hand, copyright policy and legislative initiatives have intensified; on the other hand, the large number of references to the Court of Justice of the European Union has substantially shaped the EU copyright framework and, with it, the copyright framework of individual EU Member States. This handbook is a detailed reference source of original contributions which analyze and critically evaluate the state of EU copyright law with a view to detecting the key trends and patterns in the evolution of EU copyright, weighing the benefits and disadvantages of such evolution. It covers a broad range of topics through clusters focused on: the history and approaches to EU copyright harmonization; harmonization in the areas of exclusive rights, exceptions and limitations, and enforcement; copyright policy and legacy of harmonization. With contributions from a selection of highly regarded and leading scholars in this field, the Routledge Handbook on European Copyright Law is an essential resource for students and scholars who are interested in the field of copyright law.

First released in early 2019, Copyright and the Court of Justice of the European Union remains the only book exclusively devoted to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the EU copyright field. Fully updated for the new edition, the book explains the Court's role and action in the field of EU copyright law and provides readers with a sense of the direction of the Court's jurisprudence through an exercise of 'tidying up' and rationalizing the rulings issued so far. In his foreword to the first edition, First Advocate General Maciej Szpunar praised the book's 'profound analysis' of the EU copyright protection and CJEU decisions, which in his view, 'unveiled new information, perhaps never considered, even by members of the Court'. The new edition captures all the significant developments in EU copyright law that have occurred since 2019. Aside from macro-events such as the UK's now completed departure from the EU and the adoption of the Digital Single Market Directive (2019/790), seminal judgments have been issued by the CJEU which touch upon all the main foundational aspects of EU copyright. This book is structured in three parts. The first part is about the role of the CJEU as an EU institution. Following a discussion of the impact of CJEU interpretation of EU copyright provisions (notably their pre-emptive effect on individual EU Member States' freedom), the second part is concerned with CJEU action and vision in respect of four key areas of copyright and related rights: the requirements for protection, construction of exclusive rights, exceptions and limitations, and enforcement. The final part focuses on the legacy of CJEU case law broadly intended, having regard to both individual countries' copyright laws (specifically: the UK) and recent EU copyright reform discourse, notably in the context of the DSM Directive. Timely and engaging, Copyright and the Court of Justice of the European Union provides novel insights into the activity of the CJEU in the copyright field and reflects on the resulting implications for the present and future of EU copyright.

Information Law Series Volume 45 In a copyright system characterised by broad and long-lasting exclusive rights, exceptions provide a vital counterweight, especially in times of rampant technological change. The EU’s controversial InfoSoc Directive – now two decades old – lists exceptions in which an unauthorised user will not have infringed the rightholder’s copyright. To reform or not to reform this legal framework – that is the question considered in great depth in this book, providing detailed theoretical and normative analysis of the Directive, the national and CJEU case law arising from it, and meticulously thought-out proposals for change. By breaking down the concepts of ‘flexibility’ and ‘legal certainty’ into a set of policy objectives and assessment criteria, the author thoroughly examines such core aspects of the framework as the following: the justifications for exceptions, e.g., safeguarding the fundamental rights of users; the regimes established in legislation and case law for key exceptions; the need to promote technological development; the importance of avoiding re-fragmentation caused by uncoordinated national legislative responses to technological changes; the legal status of digital technologies that rely on unauthorised uses of copyright-protected works; and the pros and cons of importing a fair use standard modelled after that of the United States. In an invaluable concluding chapter, the author puts forward a set of reform proposals, articulating their advantages and responding to potential objections. In doing so, the chapter also identifies, synthesises and critically examines the various proposals that have been advanced in the academic literature. In its decisive contribution to the debate around the InfoSoc Directive and the rules that guide its implementation, interpretation, and application, this book isolates the contentious structural features of the framework and examines them in a critical fashion. The author’s systematised review of scholarly and policymaking proposals for increasing flexibility and legal certainty in EU copyright law will be welcomed by practitioners in intellectual property law and other areas of economic law, as well as by interested policymakers and scholars.

This book presents a thorough exploration of the legal framework of EU digital copyright law from the perspective of the end-user. It provides a detailed examination of the implications that the spectacular rise of this new actor creates for the interplay between the EU copyright system and human rights law, competition law and other important policies contained in the EC Treaty. This comprehensive, book is crucial reading for lawyers, policymakers and academics.