©-LAW

Still on the leaked IA ... This may not be just a good exam question for undergraduate IP law students  [note to  self: something for next year] , but also lawyers and policy-makers currently discussing EU copyright reform. As  reported  by this blog, earlier this week Statewatch  leaked  a draft version of  the Commission Staff Working Document - Impact Assessment on the modernisation of EU copyright rules  [it is however unclear whether the one leaked is the version currently being considered by the Commission] . The document is extremely interesting for various reasons. Among the things, the Commission addresses the problem of right holders facing great difficulties, or being unable, " to negotiate with online service providers that store and give access to large amounts of protected content uploaded by their users. This results in right holders having limited control over the use and the remuneration for the use of their content."...

Finding a safe harbour? A mission that can wait The  Ecommerce Directive  envisages a number of immunities (known as safe harbours) that  shield internet service providers (ISPs) from liability for third-party content that they transmit, cache or host. In the context of its  Digital Single Market Strategy   [Katposts  here ]  the EU Commission is currently engaged in a discussion of whether the liability principles and rules contained in that EU directive for the benefit of ISPs should be amended  [the next EU copyright package is awaited for release in the second half of September - see  here  for a leaked version] . With specific regard to copyright, one of the principal concerns relates to a particular type of ISP, ie hosting providers.  Unlicensed hosting providers have been increasingly said to invoke the relevant safe harbour immunity in the EU Ecommerce Directive  [Article 14]  lacking the conditio...