Permission to Click: Making Available via Hyperlinks in the European Union after Svensson

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of recent European Union (EU) copyright cases regarding the nature and scope of communication rights, as applied to the issue of copyright liability for hyperlinking with a particular focus on the preliminary ruling of Svensson (C-466/12). The article contemplates the implications of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for future legal interpretation and, more broadly, for the state of copyright in the digital age. It also links the evolving practices with the pertinent international law, in particular with the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), together known as the WIPO Internet Treaties.