Tuesday 7 January 2014

Copyright and Linking Third Party Content

BGH I ZR 39 / 12


The German Federal Court had to decide a case of possible copyright infringement where the host of a website provided users with links to protected third party content which they could download. That content was uploaded and hosted by him in a download centre without the consent of the relevant rights owner. The Federal Court found that the activity of the host was copyright relevant because it not only provided a link but also included uploading by himself in a download centre with his full knowledge of the content. It rejected the argument he could be seen as a neutral telecommunications/hosting service provider under EU directive 2000/31/EG and therefore be exempted from liability for copyright infringing content uploaded by third parties.

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