Enforcing Copyright Infringements Online: In Search of Balanced Private International Law Rules

Journal of Intellectual Property, Information Technology and ECommerce Law, 2015 Forthcoming

21 Pages Posted: 12 Sep 2015

Date Written: September 10, 2015

Abstract

Enforcement of copyright online and fighting online “piracy” is a high priority on the EU agenda. Private international law questions have recently become some of the most challenging issues in this area. Internet service providers are still uncertain how the Brussels I Regulation (Recast) provisions would apply in EU-wide copyright infringement cases and in which country they can be sued for copyright violations. Meanwhile, because of the territorial approach that still underlies EU copyright law, right holders are unable to acquire EU-wide relief for copyright infringements online. This article first discusses the recent CJEU rulings in the Pinckney and Hejduk cases and argues that the “access approach” that the Court adopted for solving jurisdiction questions could be quite reasonable if it is applied with additional legal measures at the level of substantive law, such as the targeting doctrine. Secondly, the article explores the alternatives to the currently established lex loci protection is rule that would enable right holders to get EU-wide remedies under a single applicable law. In particular, the analysis focuses on the special applicable law rule for ubiquitous copyright infringements, as suggested by the CLIP Group, and other international proposals.

Keywords: copyright, jurisdiction, online, Pinckney, Hejduck

JEL Classification: K2

Suggested Citation

Matulionyte, Rita, Enforcing Copyright Infringements Online: In Search of Balanced Private International Law Rules (September 10, 2015). Journal of Intellectual Property, Information Technology and ECommerce Law, 2015 Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2658950

Rita Matulionyte (Contact Author)

Macquarie Law School ( email )

North Ryde
Sydney, New South Wales 2109
Australia

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