Schaefer, Martin; Lindner, Brigitte --- "GERMANY" [2019] ELECD 628; in Lindner, Brigitte; Shapiro, Ted (eds), "Copyright in the Information Society" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 367

Book Title: Copyright in the Information Society

Editor(s): Lindner, Brigitte; Shapiro, Ted

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 13

Section Title: GERMANY

Author(s): Schaefer, Martin; Lindner, Brigitte

Number of pages: 44

Abstract/Description:

Directive 2001/29/EC was implemented in Germany by Law of 10 September 2003 on the Regulation of Copyright in the Information Society. Since then, the German Copyright Act has been amended several times. In addition, German courts and their numerous references to the European Court of Justice seeking clarification of various issues have brought the Directive to life in Germany. This process is in flux with several references pending at the European Court at the time of writing. The present chapter reviews the legislative framework which accommodates the Directive in German law and the sometimes imaginative approach of German courts to adapt the case law of the European Court to the particularities of German law. Of particular interest in this context is the rich case law concerning communication to the public and private copying levies as well as the challenges posed by the transposition and application of Article 8(3) of the Directive.