In the long-running battle between Europe’s $1 trillion creative industry and online platforms, the European Court of Justice has ruled that Google’s YouTube and other online platforms are not automatically liable for copyright-infringing works uploaded by users.
The Court found that:
“Operators of online platforms do not, in principle, themselves make a communication to the public of copyright-protected content illegally posted online by users of those platforms.”
However, such platforms could still be liable under certain conditions, including if they:
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Contribute, beyond merely making the platform available, to giving access to copyrighted content to the public;
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Have specific knowledge that protected content is available illegally on their platform and fail to expeditiously delete it or block access;
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Refrain from implementing appropriate technological measures to credibly and effectively counter copyright infringements; or
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Participate in selecting protected content illegally communicated to the public, provide tools specifically intended for the illegal sharing of such content, or knowingly promote such sharing.
This judgment arose from Joined Cases C‑682/18 (YouTube) and C‑683/18 (Cyando).
For any enquiries, please contact the authors:
Bahari Yeow
Partner
Gan Partnership
E: bahari@ganlaw.my
Ng Lih Jiun
Associate
Gan Partnership
E: lihjiun@ganlaw.my
Lim Zhi Jian
Partner
Gan Partnership
E: zhijian@ganlaw.my
DISCLAIMER: This article is for general information only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. The position stated herein is as at the date of publication on 23 June 2021.
