Brussels, BELGIUM – Today, 26 April, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its highly anticipated ruling (CJEU press release – judgement) in the case initiated in 2019 by the Polish government seeking the annulment of Article 17(4)(b) and (4)(c) of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DCDSM) (Case C-401/19).
The following statement can be attributed to Ms Caroline De Cock, Coalition for Creativity (C4C) coordinator:
“It is reassuring to see the attention the Court has given to the many safeguards put in place by the EU legislators in Article 17 in order to ensure the respect of the right to freedom of expression and information of users of platforms qualified as OCSSPs. This emphasis, as well as the reiteration of the general monitoring prohibition, must now be reflected in the national transpositions of Member States, which must deliver the fair balance between fundamental rights that the Court considers crucial for Article 17 to be deemed legal.”
C4C is a broad-based coalition that seeks an informed debate on how copyright can more effectively promote innovation, access, and creativity. C4C brings together libraries, scientific and research institutions, digital rights groups, technology businesses, and educational and cultural heritage institutions that share a common view on copyright.
For press inquiries on this please contact Ms De Cock at secretariat@coalition4creativity.org or +32 474 84 05 15.
[Note: We are still analysing the judgement and reserve the right to update.]
The CJEU ruling summarised in one image
Other relevant resources:
- Dr João Pedro Quintais (IViR, Amsterdam University): Twitter thread on the CJEU press release
- Prof Martin Husovec (LSE): Twitter thread giving a preliminary overview of the findings of the case
- Former MEP Felix Reda (GFF): Twitter thread highlighting the interplay of the ruling with the German and Austrian Article 17 implementations
- Former MEP Felix Reda (GFF) & Paul Keller (IViR, Amsterdam University): Kluwer Copyright Blog analysis
- COMMUNIA: Twitter thread & blog post analysing the judgement + Video recording of the COMMUNIA Salon on the decision
- Creative Commons: Blog post analysing the judgement
- EFF: Blog post reflecting on the ruling
- EDRi: Blog post on what’s next after the judgement