Copyright and the Court of Justice of the European Union

Abstract

Abstract This title focuses specifically on the role, action, and legacy of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the field of copyright, providing an exclusive survey that covers two decades (1998–2018) of decisions in this area. The main objective is to give a sense of the direction of EU copyright, by attempting to ‘tidy up’ and rationalize existing rulings. The book consists of three parts. The first part explores the role of the CJEU in copyright cases. Besides outlining the history of EU harmonization and providing data concerning the Court’s activity, it extracts the key standards employed in copyright case law, explains their meaning and significance, and undertakes a novel statistical analysis aimed at mapping relations between said standards. Following a discussion of the impact of CJEU interpretation of certain provisions (notably their preemptive force on Member States’ freedom), the second part concerns CJEU action (and vision) in respect of three key areas: economic rights, exceptions and limitations, and enforcement. The final part focuses on CJEU legacy broadly intended. It tackles the effect on national copyright laws and the current policy discourse around EU copyright reform. As regards the former, the book discusses the default consequences of the departure of a Member State from the EU, with a special focus on Brexit. In relation to the latter, attention turns to a number of areas which need to be considered in light, not just of existing legislation, but also—and perhaps most importantly—existing case law.