The copyright directive precludes national legislation authorising the digital reproduction of out-of-print books in breach of the exclusive rights of authors. National legislation must guarantee the protection accorded to authors by the directive and ensure, in particular, that they are actually informed of the envisaged digital exploitation of their work, while being able to put an end to it without formalities.
The initial acquirer of a copy of a computer program, accompanied by an unlimited user licence, may resell that copy and his licence to a new acquirer. However, where the original material medium of the copy that was initially delivered has been damaged, destroyed or lost, that acquirer may not provide his back-up copy of that program to that new acquirer without the authorisation of the rightholder.
The operator of a website may have a legitimate interest in storing certain personal data relating to visitors to that website in order to protect itself against cyberattacks. The dynamic internet protocol address of a visitor constitutes personal data, with respect to the operator of the website, if that operator has the legal means allowing it to identify the visitor concerned with additional information about him which is held by the internet access provider.
The operator of a shop who offers a Wi-Fi network free of charge to the public is not liable for copyright infringements committed by users of that network. However, such an operator may be required to password-protect its network in order to bring an end to, or prevent, such infringements.
The posting of a hyperlink on a website to works protected by copyright and published without the author’s consent on another website does not constitute a ‘communication to the public’ when the person who posts that link does not seek financial gain and acts without knowledge that those works have been published illegally. In contrast, if those hyperlinks are provided for profit, knowledge of the illegality of the publication on the other website must be presumed.
The operator of a physical marketplace may be forced to put an end to trademark infringements committed by market-traders.
According to the General Court, the repute of McDonald’s trade marks makes it possible to prevent the registration, for foods or beverages, of trade marks combining the prefix ‘Mac’ or ‘Mc’ with the name of a foodstuff or beverage
In the view of Advocate General Szpunar, the lending of electronic books is comparable to the lending of traditional books.
Advocate General Szpunar considers that the EU trade mark representing the shape of a Rubik’s Cube must be declared invalid.
According to Advocate General Wathelet, the posting of a hyperlink to a website which published photos without authorisation does not in itself constitute a copyright infringement.