European court rules that Facebook must delete illegal content on a global basis
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The ‘European’ right to be forgotten: European Court decision recognises territorial limits and rejects systematic de-referencing
In a landmark ruling last week, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has held that Google is not required to carry out a de-referencing (effectively, the “right to be forgotten”) on non-EU versions of its search engine.
The case was brought by Google on appeal, having received an initial fine of €100,000 from the French data protection regulator, CNIL, back in 2016 after it had ruled that Google’s self-imposed restriction to only…
EU broadcasting law updated to facilitate the cross-border provision of online audiovisual content
On 7 June 2019 a European Directive came into force amending the 1993 ‘Cable and Satellite’ Directive. Its effect was to:
extend the EEA ‘country of origin’ rights clearance principle to a limited set of online broadcast and catch-up services;
extend the mandatory collective rights management of retransmission from cable distribution to all forms of retransmission; and
provide statutory clarification of the legal treatment of ‘direct injection’.
What is the reasoning behind the reform?
In an ever…
EU Copyright Reform: good news for authors and artists behind the headlines…
The scope of the EU Digital Copyright Directive approved this week by European Parliament is broad. With most media attention having been devoted to the controversial “link tax” (Article 15) and “meme ban” (Article 17), other measures in the Directive which strengthen the position of authors and performers should not be forgotten. This post looks ‘behind the headlines’ to explain these other measures.…
EU Copyright Reform: EU Parliament approves proposal including controversial articles 15 (originally 11) and 17 (originally 13)
On 26 March 2019, the European Parliament approved the EU Copyright Directive.
What happens next?
Member states will have two years to implement the directive at a national level once adopted.
The news will not please the large online content aggregators which have been extensively lobbying against the implementation of the Copyright Directive. The controversial Article 17 (the so-called “Meme Ban”) has been one of the main reasons for the aggregators’ objections because it…
EU Copyright Reform: Article 15 – “Link Tax”
On 26 March 2019, the European Parliament approved the EU Copyright Directive.
Article 15 (originally 11) of the revised EU Copyright directive prohibits online content providers from linking to news outlets/publications without the prior authority of the publisher – the so called “Link Tax”. This means that for an online content provider to be able to link to a news article on their site, it will need a licence from the publisher. It may…
EU Copyright Reform: copyright rules for a digital world?
On 26 March 2019 the European Parliament approved the draft EU Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive. The copyright reforms have sparked large scale controversy amongst the tech giant community, condemning the reforms as impractical and burdensome. Whereas many (not all) authors and members of the performing artist industry have welcomed such proposals, favouring fairer protection and remuneration for their works. The Directive came into force on 6 June 2019 and Member States have until…
EU-US Privacy Shield: Safe for another year—but trouble lies ahead
Thousands of European and US companies will have been relieved by the recent announcement that the EU-US Privacy Shield (the framework for regulating transatlantic exchanges of personal data) is secure for another year.
However, it may be premature to rejoice: the EU Commission’s review highlighted two key issues:
the continued reluctance by the US to institute fundamental safeguards for individuals’ personal data; and
the imminent need to appoint an independent ombudsman.
Coupled with the impending…
UK guidance for developers of health care software and technologies
Data-driven technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and other complex algorithms, have the potential to enhance patient care and catalyse medical breakthroughs. However, these technologies are heavily reliant on data, which poses challenges in ensuring that patient information is handled in a safe, secure and legally compliant way.…
UK Supreme Court: rights-holders must pay costs of blocking IP-infringing websites
In today’s judgment, the UK Supreme Court held that rights-holders should bear the costs of implementing website blocking injunctions to prevent IP infringement. The judgment overturns the practice adopted by the English courts since 2011 of requiring internet service providers, as innocent intermediaries, to bear these costs.…