Harmonising Intermediary Copyright Liability In The Eu

In step with its rapid progress to the centre of modern social, political, and economic life, the internet has proven a convenient vehicle for the commission of unprecedented levels of copyright infringement. Given the virtually insurmountable obstacles to successful pursuit of actual perpetrators, it has become common for intermediaries –providers of internet-related infrastructure and services – to face liability as accessories. Despite advances in policy at the European level, the law in this area remains far from consistently applicable. This is the first book to locate and clarify the substantive rules of European intermediary accessory liability in copyright and to formulate harmonised European norms to govern this complicated topic. With a detailed comparative analysis of relevant regimes in three major Member State jurisdictions – England, France, and Germany – the author elucidates the relationship between these rules and the demands of EU law on fundamental rights and the principles of European tort law. She clearly presents the interrelations between such areas as the following: - accessory liability in tort; - joint tortfeasance; - European fault-based liability: fault, causation, defences; - negligence; - negligence balancing: rights-based or utility-based?; - Germany’s “disturbance liability” (Störerhaftung); - fair balance in human rights; - end-users’ fundamental rights; - The European Commission’s 2015 Communication on a Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe; - The E-Commerce Directive and other relevant provisions; - Safe harbours: mere conduit, caching, hosting; - Intermediary actions: monitoring, filtering, blocking, removal of infringing content; and - application of remedies: damages and injunctions. The strong points of each national system are highlighted, as are the commonalities between them, and the author uses these to build a proposed harmonised European framework for intermediary liability for copyright infringement. She concludes with suggestions for the future possible integration of the proposed framework into EU law. The issue of the liability of internet intermediaries for third party copyright infringement has entered into the political agenda across the globe, giving rise to one of the most complex, contentious, and fascinating debates in modern copyright law. This book offers an opportunity for a re-conceptualisation and rationalisation of the applicable law, in a way which additionally better accounts for the cross-border nature of the internet. It will be of inestimable value to many interested parties – lawyers, internet intermediaries, NGOs, policymakers, universities, libraries, researchers, lobbyists – in matters regarding the information society.

With the adoption and subsequent national implementation of the E-Commerce Directive's safe harbour regime, the architecture set up in Europe for the liability of internet intermediaries for third party copyright infringement has become two-tiered: at a first stage, it is necessary to examine whether a given intermediary attracts, in its pursuit of a certain activity, liability according to the standards set out in national law. If so, the applicability of a safe harbour must be considered. As a result, although it provides a veneer of approximation by immunising intermediaries under certain conditions, the Directive does not harmonise the underlying substantive liability norms which determine whether the safe harbours will be necessary or redundant. This leaves ample room for national divergences. The resultant fragmentation strikes a discordant note in the otherwise highly harmonised area of copyright. To address this fragmentation, harmonising momentum has picked up at the European Union (EU) level. In research conducted from 2011 to 2015 at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) of the University of Amsterdam, I explored the options for moving EU law forward towards a fully harmonised intermediary liability system in copyright. This chapter provides a brief summary of that research. It considers both the current European rules and the national regimes in place in three European jurisdictions (UK, France and Germany). Subsequently, the relationship between these rules and the national substantive tort principles that underlie them is examined. Based on the lessons learnt from those tort principles, the chapter works its way towards proposing a model harmonised framework to govern the area: a truly European, cogent, stable and effective structure for intermediary accessory copyright liability.

"With the adoption and subsequent national implementation of the E-Commerce Directive's safe harbour regime, the architecture set up in Europe for the civil liability of internet intermediaries for the copyright infringements of others has become two-tiered: at a first stage, it is necessary to examine whether a given intermediary attracts, in its pursuit of a certain activity, liability according to the standards ensconced in the Member States' legislation. If so, in the second instance, the applicability of a safe harbour must be considered. As a result, although it provides a veneer of approximation by immunising intermediaries under certain circumscribed conditions, the Directive does not harmonise the underlying substantive liability norms which determine whether the safe harbours will be necessary or redundant. This leaves ample room for national divergences beyond the safe harbours. The resultant fragmentation strikes a discordant note in the otherwise highly harmonised area of copyright. This book seeks to explore the possibilities for moving EU law forward towards a fully harmonised intermediary liability system in copyright. To this end, after a detailed dissection of the current European rules, it undertakes a comparative analysis of the national regimes in place in three EU Member States, those of England, France and Germany. Subsequently, the relationship between these rules and the national substantive tort principles that underlie them is examined. Ultimately, the book works its way towards proposing a model harmonised framework to govern the area: a truly substantive, truly European comprehensive, cogent, stable and effective analytical structure for intermediary accessory copyright liability."--Samenvatting auteur.

All forms of online communications and interactions between people and companies on the Internet are facilitated by intermediaries – service providers whose decisions and policies have a shaping effect on the Internet, its users and the information shared on it. Today, because such intermediaries employ technologies that go well beyond the mere transmission and storage of information into new realms potentially disrupting existing business models, a rethinking of existing relevant law is called for. The legal analysis and recommendations in this book put the topic of intermediary liability in the perspective of copyright law and offer a vision on how to regulate that liability. In the context of in-depth and up-to-date analyses on EU, US, German and Dutch law, the author discusses such issues and topics as the following: the liability rules in the new Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market; liability for the intermediary’s own copyright infringements (primary liability); the intermediary’s responsibility to stop or prevent the infringements of others (secondary liability); the role that fundamental rights play in copyright law and intermediary liability; the rights and interests of copyright owners, intermediaries and users, and how they are protected; notice-and-takedown by service providers; website blocking by Internet access providers; the publisher’s rights and the use of online articles by platforms; legal status of hyperlinks under copyright law; and search engine use of copyrighted materials. A focus on the strengths and weaknesses of existing EU copyright law concerning Internet intermediaries in terms of how future-proof that law is, includes detailed attention to legislation, regulation and case law. With its deeply informed guidance with respect to the methods of regulation in a domain that is heavily influenced by technological developments, this book will be welcomed by policymakers, legislators, academics, judges and practitioners working in the area of copyright law as applied to the Internet. The detailed attention to the extent to which an intermediary can be held liable for copyright infringements in both the EU and the US will prove highly beneficial for in-house counsellors and advisors working for rights holder organizations and intermediary service providers.

To better understand the heterogeneity of the international online intermediary liability regime, The Oxford Handbook of Intermediary Liability Online is designed to provide a comprehensive, authoritative and 'state-of-the-art' discussion of by highlighting emerging trends. This book discusses fundamental legal issues in intermediary liability online, while also describing advancement in intermediary liability theory and identifying recent policy trends. Sections I and II provide a taxonomy of internet platforms, a general discussion of possible basis for liability and remedies, while putting into context intermediary liability regulation with fundamental rights and the ethical implications of the intermediaries' role. Section III presents a jurisdictional overview discussing intermediary liability safe harbour arrangements and highlighting issues with systemic fragmentation and miscellaneous inconsistent approaches. Mapping online intermediary liability worldwide entails the review of a wide-ranging topic, stretching into many different areas of law and domain-specific solutions. Section IV provides an overview of intermediate liability for copyright, trademark, and privacy infringement, together with Internet platforms' obligations and liabilities for defamation, hate and dangerous speech. Section V reviews intermediary liability enforcement strategies by focusing on emerging trends, including proactive monitoring obligations across the entire spectrum of intermediary liability subject matters, blocking orders against innocent third parties, and the emergence of administrative enforcement of intermediary liability online. In addition, Section VI discusses an additional core emerging trend in intermediary liability enforcement: voluntary measures and private ordering. Finally, international private law issues are addressed in Section VII with special emphasis on the international struggle over Internet jurisdiction and extra-territorial enforcement of intermediaries' obligations.

The European concern with copyright and related rights -- Object, subject, and duration of protection -- Exclusive rights and limitations -- Rights management information and technological protection measures -- Term extension for sound recordings -- Term calculation for co-written musical works -- Orphan works -- The blessings and curses of harmonization -- The last frontier : territoriality.

A New Framework for Intermediary Liability presents a step-by-step framework for determining when internet intermediaries ought to have a duty to act to prevent copyright infringement on their platforms and services.

Featuring foreword from Maciej Szpunar, First Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union and Professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice This book delivers a comprehensive examination of the legal systems that regulate the responsibilities of intermediaries for illegal online content in both the EU and the US. It assesses whether existing systems are capable of tackling modern challenges, ultimately advocating for the introduction of a double-sided duty of care, requiring online intermediaries to do more to tackle illegal content whilst also better protecting their users’ rights.

This book analyses important legal issues in the controversial area of file sharing on the Internet. Geographically, the book covers the European Union; however, in regard to secondary copyright liability it also discusses key US and Australian cases and doctrines. This critical review includes topics such as: - primary liability of Internet users; - secondary liability of file-sharing service providers and its application by national courts in Europe; - role and liability of Internet service providers in the light of the EU E-Commerce Directive and in regard to filtering/blocking orders and discovery of identity orders; - impact of watermarking and encryption technology and potential application of private copyright levy in the on-line environment.

. . . 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.