CJEU ruling: dedicated meta-search engine infringes database right
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) released an important decision concerning the sui generis right under Article 7 of the Directive 96/9 on the legal protection of databases. The court held that an internet operator that provides a dedicated meta-search engine (which in turn uses search engines provided by other websites to … Continue reading
Biotech Patents and Morality after Brüstle
Post by Enrico Bonadio The article highlights some issues raised by the recent decision of the Court of Justice of European Union in Brüstle v Greenpeace, a widely reported case on the exclusion from patentability of inventions related to human embryonic stem cells (HESCs). The ruling first offers the opportunity to delve into an old … Continue reading
‘Communication to the Public’ in FAPL v QC Leisure and Murphy v Media Protection Services (C-403/08 and C-429/08)
Post by Enrico Bonadio On 4 October 2011 the Court of Justice of the European Union released its decision in FAPL v QC Leisure and Murphy v Media Protection Services (Joined Cases C-403/08 and C-429/08). Amongst the many aspects dealt with, the Court gave its interpretation of ‘communication to the public’ under Article 3(1) of … Continue reading
Joint Authorship of Films in the Absence of Express Terms (Slater V Wimmer [2012] Ewpcc, Judge Birss Qc, 16 February 2012)
The Patents County Court in Slater v Wimmer decided a case regarding a dispute as to ownership of copyright in a film. The Court reaffirmed that under Section 10(1A) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 the producer and principal director are considered joint authors of the copyright in a film if they are … Continue reading
Trade Marks in Online Marketplaces: The CJEU’s Stance in L’Oreal v. eBay
Post by Enrico Bonadio On July 12, 2011 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) gave its decision in L’Oréal v eBay (C-324/09). The CJEU dealt with inter alia the following issues: (1) the aspects related to the nature of the goods sold by eBay’s users; (2) the liability of eBay in connection … Continue reading
Court of Milan Holds Video Sharing Platforms Liable for Copyright Infringement
Dr. Enrico Bonadio In June and September 2011 the Court of Milan released two interesting decisions in the field of liability of Internet Service Providers for copyright infringement committed by their users. In particular, the Court found that the Internet Service Providers Italia On Line and Yahoo! Italia were liable for copyright infringement in connection … Continue reading
A free and open Internet in Europe? Case C-70/10 Scarlet Extended SA v SABM
Post by Prof. Lorna Woods Photo: Xeni Jardin (xeni, CC via flickr) Case C‑70/10 Scarlet Extended SA v. Société belge des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs SCRL (SABAM), judgment 24 November 2011 here. In 2004, SABAM requested that Scarlet, a Belgian Internet service provider, filter the online activities of its users to avoid illegal downloads, affecting copyright … Continue reading
Patentability and Human Embryos: Case C-34/10 Oliver Brüstle vs. Greenpeace
Post by Chiara Berneri Photo: euthman (CC via flickr) In a judgment on the 18th of October 2011, Oliver Brüstle vs. Greenpeace (Case No. C-34/10), the European Court of Justice found that destructive research on human embryos cannot be patented. The Court established a broad definition of “human embryo” stating that cells that have the … Continue reading
Supplementary Protection Certificates for Plant Protection Products
Post by Enrico Bonadio The European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered a decision regarding supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for plant protection products and provisional marketing authorizations. The ECJ clarified that SPCs for patented plant protection products may also be based on provisional marketing authorizations pursuant to Article 8(1) Directive 91/114. The full paper ‘Supplementary Protection … Continue reading
Murphy v Media Protection Services: not a clearcut victory
By Judith Townend (cross-post from Law Justice and Journalism) One view seemed to dominate last night’s City Law School event: the implications of the ECJ judgment in combined cases FA Premier League & Ors v QC Leisure and Murphy v Media Protection Services were unclear. As Professor Lorna Woods, City Law School, wrote ahead of the event, “The long-awaited Murphy judgment … has been heralded in the … Continue reading
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