Proportionality – A New Mega Standard in European Copyright Law

UCITA and the Impact on European Copyright Law - A Choice of Law Analysis

Copyright Law in an Age of Limitations and Exceptions brings together leading copyright scholars and the field's foremost authorities to consider the critical role of copyright law in shaping the complex social, economic, and political interaction critical for cultural productivity and human flourishing. The book addresses defining issues facing copyright law today, including justifications for copyright law's limitations and exceptions (L&Es), the role of authors in copyright, users' rights, fair use politics and reform, the three-step test in European copyright law, the idea/expression principle with respect to functional works, limits on the use of L&Es in scientific innovation, and L&Es as a tool for economic development in international copyright law. The book also presents case studies on the historical development of the concept of 'neighboring rights' and on Harvard Law School's pioneering model of global copyright education, made possible by the exercise of L&Es across national borders.

In the framework of the knowledge economy, digital convergence produces significant interoperability among media, together with a greater interactivity between users and communication devices. However, these expectations may be thwarted through the embedding of technical measures that monitor usage of digital media content. Traditionally, consumers are absent from the copyright discourse. In the US legal system, a few exceptions include the first-sale doctrine, the rights of owners of copies of software to make a back-up copy, etc. In European copyright law, the terms 'consumer' or 'end user' rarely, if ever, appear in legislative texts, and are completely absent from the body of harmonized EU copyright law. Such disregard for the consumer in copyright law, however, is facing the digital environment, where the interaction between copyright and consumer protection needs to find a new balance in a more user-centric regime, fostering a flourishing environment for digital content. Recently, the Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights adopted in October 2011 has dealt explicitly with digital content, including it among the issues regulated by the Directive. The new EU Directive on consumer rights appears to be a first – desirable – step toward a balanced intersection between copyright and consumer/user protection.

EU copyright law has attempted to resolve the antithesis between the ideal of the single market and the concept of copyright territoriality through a modest approach, which is based on the axiom of safeguarding copyright territoriality and of the accompanying geoblocking practices. The aim of this article is to critically analyse the EU’s steps towards the circumvention of the principle of territoriality and of geoblocking and to demonstrate that, as the efforts to create a digital single market are intensified, a strict EU geoblocking policy in relation to services offering access to copyright-protected works cannot be retained. The article is divided into three parts. Part one is dedicated to the consequences of the principle of territoriality on European copyright law (II). Part two is dedicated to the steps, both jurisprudential and legislative, which have been taken to move away from the principle of copyright territoriality at the European level (III). Part three is dedicated to the recently adopted Geoblocking Regulation 2018/302, while possible ways to move forward are also analysed (IV).

This book deals comprehensively with the major treaties and conventions covering the law of international copyright and neighbouring rights. It explains the complex legal, economic and political background to the treaties and their contents, and how they inter-relate. There is also practical commercial discussion of how copyright and neighbouring rights are treated in international trade measures such as GATT, WTO, NAFTA, and bilateral and unilateral treaties, with a section devoted to how unilateral trade measures are applied by the USA in particular. There is also some discussion of how international copyright law and neighbouring rights may develop in the future. The book is intended to be a definitive account of the law of international copyright and neighbouring rights, but it is also intended to be accessible to non-specialist practitioners. It is fully cross-referenced to a forthcoming companion volume, European Copyright Law and Policy (expected to publish in 2008), offering readers a comprehensive approach to the subject. The author has been consulted on copyright policy on numerous occasions by various governmental and non-governmental organisations within and outside the EC, and therefore is ideally placed to give an inside view on how policy is formed.

Teaching Exceptions in European Copyright Law - Important Policy Questions Remain

Abstracts: The notion of ‘reasonableness’ is familiar to Common Law lawyers, whereas it is almost unknown to most ‘continental’ civil codes (e.g., the German, French and Italian Civil Codes). In the last decades the situation has, however, considerably changed and also within the continental context. References to ‘reasonableness’ in legal provisions have continuously increased due to many factors: among others, the influence of important international conventions dealing with commercial contracts (e.g., Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG)) and the implementation of EU Directives in the field of contract law, where ‘reasonableness’ is constantly present. The same phenomenon can be observed to a greater extent in most academic projects aiming at harmonizing European contract law: Principles of European Contract Law (PECL), Code Européen des Contrats, Principles of European Law (PEL), Acquis Principles, Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR), and so forth. It is not only a matter of ‘globalization’ of the law. The attractiveness of ‘reasonableness’ also depends on its specific features of extreme flexibility and proximity to concrete circumstances compared with the abstract and rigid features of other well-known principles and concepts familiar to Civil law (like ‘good faith’, ‘diligence’, ‘equity’). Nevertheless, the introduction of this new notion raises controversial issues: first, there is the risk of unfaithfully assimilating the foreign legal pattern (examples taken from EU Directives demonstrate this very well); secondly, some doubts may be raised as to whether such an ungraspable notion may really serve the aim of harmonization; finally, one may wonder whether it is wise to sacrifice traditional concepts like ‘good faith’, ‘diligence’, or ‘equity’ on the altar of simplification, thus renouncing conceptual precision and legal certainty.

Principles Of European Law - Negotiorum Gestio & Unjustified Enrichment - Colloquium organised by the Academy of European Law (ERA) in co-operation with the Joint Network on European Private Law - Trier (Germany) - 27-28 April 2006.

This article examines the ways in which the European Convention on Human Rights and its case‐law could be used to combat sexist education in State or private schools as well as the development of concepts of philosophical convictions, the duty of the State and the rights of children. Children could use the Convention if their parents imposed a limited education on them, and better opportunities were offered through the State. The provisions under the European Community, though more limited, apply to vocational education and training and access to it. Such access has implications for secondary schooling. European Community law on equality for women could be especially valuable. The difficulties of using English law are reviewed and aspects of English and European procedural law noted. I conclude with suggestions for a feminist strategy to improve girls’ education and that of other disadvantaged groups who could use similar arguments.

Data Protection and Freedom of Expression Beyond EU borders: EU Judicial Perspectives

Software and eCommerce are inseparable part of each other. The main thrust of the thesis is to discover a suitable legal and technological measures for curbing software in eCommerce and find out compatibility of the existing curbing measures with human rights. The WIPO Copyright treaty, the Berne Convention, the TRIPS Agreement and other international laws on copyright, patent and software have been discussed in relevant places. Information and statements from the papers prepared by WIPO on digital right management, eCommerce, and copyright have been frequently used in the thesis with proper citation. Since the U.S.A is the pioneer in the software industry and eCommerce therefore particular attention has been given on the U.S. legal system. A considerable number of relevant cases from the U.S. jurisdiction have been discussed in relevant chapters of the thesis. The European law and British law also have been discussed with limited number of case references. Since Bangladesh is a developing country&semic the relevant copyright law of Bangladesh and its prospect in software industry also has been discussed briefly. The thesis is divided in 7 chapters. A summary of each chapter has been given below. Chapter 1: Introduction: It contains a brief introduction of the issues discussed in the thesis and explanations regarding software, eCommerce, kinds of software infringements, gravity and consequence of software piracy in eCommerce, permitted actions in respect of software, jurisdiction, choice of law and enforcement issues etc. Chapter 2: Internet Piracy a Grave Challenge: In this chapter how Internet piracy of software takes place is explained with example and case reference from the U.S. jurisdiction. Chapter 3: Software Patenting vis-a-vis Copyright: A comparative discussion between software patenting and copyright protection for software takes place in this chapter. The relevant laws of the U.S. jurisdiction and European jurisdiction have been discussed with important case references of the respective jurisdiction. It is also discussed whether these two types of protection for software are conflicting or complementary. Chapter 4: Regulatory Framework for Curbing Piracy: In this chapter basically copyright law relating to software has been discussed. Relevant provisions regarding software from international copyright Law like the Berne Convention, WIPO Copyright Treaty, and TRIPS Agreement have been cited. EC Software Directive, Copyright Directive and eCommerce Directive, Statutory law and case law of the U.S. jurisdiction, the UK jurisdiction have been discussed here. Chapter 5: Technological Protection Measures: Technological protection measure in Australia, anti circumvention provision in WIPO Copyright Treaty, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of the U.S.A., Limitations and exceptions of DMCA, EC Copyright Directive and limitations and exceptions of the Copyright Directive, Rights management information etc. have been discussed. Chapter 6: Compatible Human Rights: What are the bases of the relationship between IPR and human rights, which provisions of the relevant international IP law and different national jurisdictions are upholding human rights have been discussed here. Relevant case law has been cited from the U.S. jurisdiction to show that the court did not find the anti circumvention provisions of the DMCA unconstitutional and opposed to the right to freedom of expression. It has been shown in this chapter that there is no real conflict between human rights like freedom of expression and curbing measures of software piracy in eCommerce. Chapter 7: Conclusion and Recommendations: Concluding comments and Specific recommendations have been given to curb software piracy in eCommerce and develop human rights values in IPR protection.

Recent case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has declared practices involving the pushback of individuals, including those seeking asylum, to be illegal. This is a significant and positive development. This article examines the approaches taken in key cases before these two courts, comparing and reflecting on how they have framed pushbacks as a violation of fundamental rights and the procedural obligations that States have under international and European law. While both courts have ruled these practices to be in breach of applicable laws, their framing of the violations has differed. The ECtHR has focused on the fundamental rights that are threatened when individuals are pushed back across borders. In contrast, the CJEU has previously concentrated on the violations of procedural rules that occur during the forcible return of individuals. However, in the recent case of MA, the CJEU acknowledged that the breach of procedural rules inherent in pushbacks undermines access to effective protection, resulting in a denial of access to asylum. This situation constitutes a breach of Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This important development indicates a convergence in the approaches of the two courts, both condemning pushbacks as violations of individual rights and highlighting the necessity of the right to enter as an integral part of the effective right to asylum.

On 17 June 2025, Advocate General Emiliou delivered his opinion in the second referral of the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) to the CJEU in the case “Pelham” – also known as “Metall auf Metall” (Case C-590/23). He defines “pastiche” – currently the most controversial concept of European copyright law – and makes a fundamental statement on EU copyright law and its relationship to freedom of the arts as guaranteed by Art. 13 CFR.The InfoSoc Directive, which is at the heart of EU copyright law, is too restrictive with regard to the artistic use of copyright-protected works and therefore not compatible with the Charter’s freedom of the arts. Emiliou’s opinion is a breakthrough. It grounds copyright in freedom of the arts and paves the way for a new perspective on the relationship between copyright and artistic freedom.

Abstract: When the Treaty of Rome came into force in 1958, nobody would have dared prognosticate such a dynamic development of the body of legislation which we today are accustomed to calling European Labour Law. It is well known that the Founding Fathers did not take the line of enhanced social policy on the European level and therefore assigned the area of labour law only a very limited role. But due to changes in the political and economic arena at the beginning of the 1970s, a social policy approach gained momentum which did not replace the dominant economic approach, but at least came alongside this model and had a strong impact on policy-making. It resulted in several pieces of legislation, the nature of which was mainly crisis management (Directives concerning employer insolvency, collective redundancies, transfer of undertakings). The further development of European Labour Law is characterized by this tension between economic and social requirements and this tension explains the ups and downs of European Labour Law. The need to balance economic and social necessities is mirrored also in the jurisprudence of the ECJ which in the shaping of European Labour Law has been of the utmost importance. The same is true for the activities of the European social partners who finally became part of the law-making process on the European level. The European Employment Strategy constitutes a new challenge for labour legislation which might be forced to give preference to reducing protection standards in order to reach higher employment levels. But so far the social rights approach – also adopted in the Charter of Fundamental Rights – seems to continue its influence.

This analysis reveals the contribution of fundamental rights to the restoration of contractual balance. The judicial illustrations presented show the difficulties raised by reconciling contractual freedom with the fundamental rights enshrined by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the triumph of fundamental freedoms over the binding force of the contract. The impact of the ECHR in contractual matters results from the horizontal effect granted to the text, meaning its applicability in inter-individual relations. By providing clarity and strength to fundamental rights, the alliance of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union thus ensures protection and legal certainty within the EU. The developments in European contract law suggest a pluralistic notion of contract in European private law based not only on the will of the parties but also on good faith and legitimate expectations. Indeed, the assessment and restoration of contractual balance concerning the provisions of the ECHR speak of a renewed paradigm of contract in European private law.