CJEU rules that unauthorized re-posting of protected content may be an infringement

First posted by Eleonora on the IPKat on 7th August 2018

The Cordoba photo at issue in Renckhoff

Today the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its last copyright judgment [but also - incredibly - the first copyright judgment of 2018] before the summer break. 

In Renckhoff, C-161/17 it ruled - contrary to the Opinionof Advocate General Campos Sanchéz-Bordona [here and here; ALAI thought it was very bad, and criticized it here] - that in a situation like the one at issue the unauthorized re-posting of a copyright work would be an act of communication to the public within Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive.

Background

As readers might remember, this case had a fairly odd factual background. The national 
proceedings relate in fact to copyright litigation that a photographer has brought in Germany
against a school over the use, by one of the pupils, of copyright-protected material without 
authorization. 

More specifically, one of the pupils found an image of the city of Cordoba online 
and used it for an assignment for her Spanish class, providing acknowledgment 
of the website from which she had downloaded the photograph (though not of the 
photographer, because the website where the photograph appeared did not provide any). 

Upon finishing her work, she and her teacher uploaded it on the school's
website, but the photographer came forward claiming infringement of his copyright in
the photograph, and that he had just granted a licence to use to the image to the website 
from which the pupil had downloaded it.

Litigation has gone all the way up the German Federal Court of Justice, which 

decided to stay the proceedings and refer this question to the CJEU:

Does the inclusion of a work — which is freely accessible to all internet users on a 
third-party website with the consent of the copyright holder — on a person’s own 
publicly accessible website constitute a making available of that work to the public 
within the meaning of Article 3(1) of [Directive 2001/29] if the work is first 
copied onto a server and is uploaded from there to that person’s own website?

The CJEU response

Today the Court answered in the affirmative, noting that:

1. The reposting of protected content freely available with the rightholder's consent on a third-party website is a new act of communication to the public (I'd also add that it is also an act of reproduction, and in fact this has been already established in the national proceedings) and no analogy with linking to lawful and freely accessible content in a Svensson sense may be drawn. Here the point is not - as it was, instead, in Svensson whether there is a communication to a new public, because there is a new communication to the public tout court.
2. Holding otherwise would mean that a copyright owner would lose any control over their work once this has been made available online the first time. This would basically amount to an undue exhaustion of the right of communication to the public, contrary to Article 3(3) of the InfoSoc Directive, and would also be in breach of the principle according to which economic rights are preventive in nature (in a Souliersense)
3. The fact that a work has been initially published online and made available with no restrictions is irrelevant: holding otherwise would be akin to imposing formalities to the enjoyment and exercise of copyright, and this would go against the prohibition in Article 5(2) of the Berne Convention.

If that was ever possible, 
now school may become even more stressful

The Court also recalled that copyright
protection in a photograph only arises when 
the photograph is its author's own 
intellectual creation, in the sense that it 
results from the making of free and 
creative choices and carries the author's 
personal touch, in the sense clarified 
in Painer. Readers will remember that 
the AG doubted that the one at issue 
would be a copyright-protected 
photograph. However, Article 6 of the 
Term Directive leaves EU Member States free to protect sub-original photos.

Implications

Overall, the judgment is good news for copyright owners, in that it gives them reassurance 
that the control over their works is not reduced over the internet. 

The ruling is also interesting in relation to the practice of certain websites (including newspapers) 
that directly host third-party video content in respect of which they neither own the rights nor 
do they have a licence, in lieu of displaying such videos by means of embedded links. While 
the latter might be lawful (depending on whether the requirements set in Svensson and
 GS Media are fulfilled), the former might pave the way to a finding of liability. This 
may be something that we knew already, but that now the CJEU has confirmed.

AG Campos provides reasonable interpretation of the right of communication to the public in his Opinion in Renckhoff

The work at the centre of this litigation

Does the inclusion of a work [the photograph on the right hand side] — which is freely accessible to all internet users on a third-party website with the consent of the copyright holder — on a person’s own publicly accessible website constitute an act of communication to the public within Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive if the work is first copied onto a server and is uploaded from there to that person’s own website?

This is the question that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has been asked to address in Land Nordrhein-Westfalen v Renckhoff, C-161/17.

This morning Advocate General (AG) Campos Sánchez-Bordona delivered his Opinion [not yet available in English], and answered in the negative.

Let’s see what happened.

Background

Well, the background is quite ... ridiculous (in the sense that it is ridiculous that litigation is brought in the first place in instances like the present one), and also the AG seemed to agree.

At the very outset, in fact, he observed that not long time ago, school research and work on posters used to be accompanied by photographs, prints and drawings published on books and journals/magazines and hanged on the walls of schools (so to allow parents to view them), “without the authors of those images seeking compensation for their use” [NOTE: all direct quotes are my own translations from the Italian version of the Opinion]. Things have changed and, nowadays, the images used are digital and the resulting school work/research is uploaded on freely accessible websites.

This is indeed what happened in this case to a schoolgirl, who found an image of the city of Cordoba online and used it for an assignment for her Spanish class, providing acknowledgment of the website from which she had downloaded the photograph (though not of the photographer, because the website where the photograph appeared did not provide any). Upon finishing her work, she and her teacher uploaded it online … but the photographer [in my view it might be even questionable that the work is protected by copyright in the first place; although the parties to the national litigation agreed that the photograph is protected, the AG also had his doubts: see further below] came forward claiming infringement of his copyright in the photograph, and that he had just granted a licence to use to the image to the website from which the pupil had downloaded it.

Litigation has ensued all the way up the German Federal Court of Justice [!!], which has decided to stay the proceedings and refer the question above to the CJEU.

The AG Opinion

Preliminary remarks

Before even starting his own substantial analysis, the AG noted that the notion of communication to the public has been “already subject to several decisions of the Court”. Yet, “the current reference shows that the interpretative questions of national courts have not been fully solved yet” [this is indeed true … in terms of numbers, the CJEU is fast approaching its 20th decision on Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive].

Then, the AG noted that the way the referring court has phrased the question requires the CJEU to only consider the construction of the right of communication to the public, not also the issue of reproduction [of course, by downloading the photograph and re-uploading it, the schoolgirl made acts of reproduction].

As mentioned, the AG did not find it straightforward to say that a photograph like the one at issue would be protected by copyright. Nonetheless, pursuant to the freedom left to Member Sates [but not all took advantage of this possibility, an example being the UK] by Article 6 of the Term Directive to protect ‘simple photographs’, it would appear that – at least under German law – such photograph would be protected.

Notion of communication to the public: an ‘act of communication’

The AG then turned to the construction of Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive.

In relation to the need for an ‘act of communication’, the AG noted that one should consider “the indispensable role played by the user and the deliberate nature of its intervention” [here the AG directly referred to GS Media, on which see here]. Such criterion requires to consider both subjective elements relating to the behaviour of the user [the AG referred to GS Media to highlight how the Court has been taking into account also such elements] and objective circumstances, as the user’s act must give access to or facilitate access [this is a very important point relating to Article 3(1), which the CJEU has particularly elaborated in its judgments in Filmspeler – a case in which the AG was once again Campos; see my take here – and Ziggo, on which see here] to a work.

Whilst it is true that both the schoolgirl and her teacher were aware of the consequences of their behaviour when they posted the photo online, ie granting access to a work, it would be wrong not to consider: (1) the accessory character of the photograph as an element of a broader work; (2) the fact that the photograph was already freely accessible and had been published with the author’s consent; and (3) the educational context in which the act of communication occurred, ie without any customers or profit-making intention.

The AG observed that in a case like the one at issue, unlike GS Media, one should not consider whether the pupil and her teacher knew that the original photograph had been published or not with the consent of the author, but rather whether they should know that, to reproduce a third-party photograph, they needed the author’s consent. The AG answered in the negative, holding that one should bear in mind that: A) those who act without a profit-making intention do not usually act with full knowledge of the consequences of their behaviour; and B) the work communicated by the user was already lawfully and freely accessible on another website.

If the factors to which the arguments above refer to subsist, then “there is no communication to the public”. However, this is NOT the case when the the righholders notifies the user that the work to which it gives access is unlawfully available online or when the access granted by the suer circumvents protection measures.

All this considered, the AG found that:

·       There was no mention of who the author of the photograph was on the website from which the pupil had downloaded the photograph;

·       The photograph was easy to obtain, as there were no restrictions (whether technical or related to the terms of use) on such website.

These elements might have led the pupil and her teacher to believe that the photograph was free to use by the public.

This conclusion is not the same as thinking that there are no rights on such photograph. However, in cases like the one at issue, the user “may presume that the author does not object to the limited use of such images, for educational purposes” [para 78 – this is correct both in light of CJEU case law and, more banally but not necessarily a given, in terms of common sense]

The AG continued, holding that any different conclusion would lead to “limiting the use of most information available online. Such limitation could affect freedom of expression and information as per Article 11 of the EU Charter. Furthermore, in the present case such limitation would affect the right to education as per Article 14(1) of the Charter.” [para 79]

AG Campos Sánchez-Bordona

The AG also held the view that lack of a profit-making intention is more relevant than what the referring court appears to think. Here the AG recalled the GS Media presumption as applied to for-profit link providers to hold that – in case there were any doubts – for users without a profit-making intention it is necessary to demonstrate their knowledge of the unlicensed character of the work linked to. And the lack of any warning should be read, according to the AG, as reinforcing the idea that neither the pupil nor her teacher had full knowledge of the protected character of the work and the need to seek the author’s authorization.

Notion of communication to the public: same technical means and a new public

The AG then turned to consideration of whether in the present case the work has been made available to a ‘new public’, in that the technical means used for the original and the allegedly infringing communication was the same.

The AG ruled out that there would be a new public in this case: “As the photograph is easily and lawfully (ie with the consent of the rightholder) available to all internet users, it is unclear how the intervention of a pupil and her teacher may be decisive so that a greater number of persons access” the work [para 100].

The AG also rejected the idea – advanced by some commentators – that the ‘new public’ criterion would amount to an undue exhaustion of the right of communication to the public, which would be as such contrary to Article 3(3) of the InfoSoc Directive: “It is, instead, the logical consequence of the way in which the holder of the rights to the photograph has consented to its use, knowing or having to know that lack of any protection against the reproduction of the image could lead internet users to believe that it was freely available to the public” [para 104].

It is not too much to ask a professional, when he/she publishes a work online, personally or through third parties, to adopt the appropriate measures, also of a technical nature, in order to clarify his/her copyright and the will to control the circulation of his/her own work” [para 105]. This does not reduce the high level of protection that authors are entitled to.

In any case, one can always seek the removal of one’s own work if he/she believes that its use is prejudicial [para 107 - here the AG does not elaborate further, but it seems that this is an argument to strengthen the conclusion that the online publication of a work does not amount to a weakened copyright protection, or even the ‘exhaustion’ of one’s own rights].

Also applicable to copyright protection ...
possibly one of the main points
of the AG Opinion

The role of exceptions

The AG then recalled that, in any case, educational exceptions might be available. If Germany has transposed Article 5(3)(a) into its own law, then account should be given of the fact that the EU Charter recognizes the right to education as a fundamental right. This should guide the correct application of the relevant exception, including ensuring that this fundamental right is not unduly compressed. In any case, in the case at issue, also compliance with the three-step test appears ensured.

Comment

This looks like a reasonable Opinion in the context of a fairly unreasonable claim, as well as a good interpretation of CJEU case law on the right of communication to the public. 

Two particular points are worth making.

The first one is that the AG Opinion is a helpful reminder that copyright protection should be balanced against other fundamental rights, including the right to education.

The second point relates to the construction of the right of communication to the public, and in particular the 'new public' criterion. It will be important to see if the Court, like the AG, addresses the criticism that the 'new public' criterion has resulted in an exhaustion of the right of communication to the public. The interpretation provided by AG Campos appears sensible, and suggests that - similarly to the case of other IP rights (eg trade marks and the steps to be taken against 'genericide') also copyright protection comes with certain 'responsibilities' on the side of rightholders. 

Let’s see if the Court agrees …

CJEU says that site like The Pirate Bay makes acts of communication to the public

First published by Eleonora Rosati on the IPKat 

Is there a communication to the public within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive by the operator of a website [The Pirate Bay, TPB], if no protected works are available on that website, but there is a system therein by means of which metadata on protected works is indexed and categorised for users, so that these can trace and upload and download the protected works? Does Article 8(3) of the InfoSoc Directive allow the issuing of an injunction against an ISP ordering it to block access for its users to an indexing site like The Pirate Bay?

These were the important questions that the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) had referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Stichting Brein v Ziggo, C-610/15 (also known as The Pirate Bay case).

The AG Opinion

In his Opinion in February last [commented here, here, and to some extent here] Advocate General (AG) Szpunar answered both questions in the affirmative. 

With particular regard to the first question the AG, while holding the view that the present case would be different from the (at the time) most immediate 'precedent' [formally, there is no system of precedent at the CJEU level], ie GS Media [Katposts here], also appeared to embrace a broader understanding of what amounts to an act of communication to the public. 

In particular, in line with the December 2016 Opinion of AG Campos Sánchez-Bordona [here] in Filmspeler, C-527/15 [subsequently confirmed by the CJEU: here and here], AG Szpunar construed Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive in a broader way than what, for instance, both AG Wathelet and the CJEU had done in GS Media. 

In fact - similarly to AG Campos Sánchez-Bordona in Filmspeler - AG Szpunar moved away from a (strict) requirement of 'indispensable intervention' towards an idea of communication to the public as 'facilitation'. Not only those whose intervention to make copyright works available to the public is indispensable could be regarded as making an act of communication the public, but also those whose intervention merely facilitates the finding of such works.

From this 'relaxation' of the notion of who can be regarded as making an act of communication to the public, the AG reached the conclusion that TPB operators would indeed facilitate the finding of copyright works unlawfully made available by third parties. Their acts would therefore fall within the scope of Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive. From the point of view of a national court, TPB operators would be thus primarily liable for copyright infringement.

[For a more detailed discussion of the relationship between GS Media, and the AG Opinions in Filmspeler and Ziggo as regards the construction of the right of communication to the public, see this longer contribution of mine here]

The CJEU decision

This morning the CJEU held the making available and managing an online platform for sharing copyright-protected works may constitute an infringement of copyright. Even if the works in question are placed online by the users of the online sharing platform, the operators of that platform play an essential role in making those works available.

The decision is not yet available on the Curia website, but according to the press release:

“In today’s judgment, the Court holds that the making available and management of an online sharing platform must be considered to be an act of communication for the purposes of the directive.

The Court first draws attention to its previous case-law from which it can be inferred that, as a rule, any act by which a user, with full knowledge of the relevant facts, provides its clients with access to protected works is liable to constitute an ‘act of communication’ for the purposes of the directive.

In the present case it is common ground that copyright-protected works are, through ‘The Pirate Bay’, made available to the users of that platform in such a way that they may access those works from wherever and whenever they individually choose.

Whilst it accepts that the works in question are placed online by the users, the Court highlights the fact that the operators of the platform play an essential role in making those works available. In that context, the Court notes that the operators of the platform index the torrent files so that the works to which those files refer can be easily located and downloaded by users. ‘The Pirate Bay’ also offers — in addition to a search engine — categories based on the type of the works, their genre or their popularity. Furthermore, the operators delete obsolete or faulty torrent files and actively filter some content.

The Court also highlights that the protected works in question are in fact communicated to a public.

Indeed, a large number of Ziggo’s and XS4ALL’s subscribers have downloaded media files using ‘The Pirate Bay’. It is also clear from the observations submitted to the Court that the platform is used by a significant number of persons (reference is made on the online sharing platform to several tens of millions of users).

Moreover, the operators of ‘The Pirate Bay’ have been informed that their platform provides access to copyright-protected works published without the authorisation of the rightholders. In addition, the same operators expressly display, on blogs and forums accessible on that platform, their intention of making protected works available to users, and encourage the latter to make copies of those works. In any event, it is clear from the Hoge Raad’s decision that the operators of ‘The Pirate Bay’ cannot be unaware that this platform provides access to works published without the consent of  therightholders.

Lastly, the making available and management of an online sharing platform, such as ‘The Pirate Bay’, is carried out with the purpose of obtaining a profit, it being clear from the observations submitted to the Court that that platform generates considerable advertising revenues.”

A more detailed analysis will be provided when the text of the judgment becomes available: stay tuned!

http://ipkitten.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/breaking-cjeu-says-that-site-like.html