[Editor's note] Like most countries and regions in the world, The rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union have important guiding significance and predictive value for understanding the legal norms of the European Union. Esabaril (ELZABURU) At the beginning of each year, typical cases of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the previous year are summarized and published, And a brief review of each case, In order to help customers and partners to understand the EU intellectual property norms. Given the importance of Chinese customers and partners, We try to publish the Chinese version of typical cases on a weekly basis, It is convenient for Chinese partners to learn the latest information in a timely manner. 　　

[background] 　　L C More Entertainment It's a Norwegian capital company, Owns the rights to broadcast sports such as ice hockey games to its network users. Swede Sandberg Create links on their personal website, The link provides free access to live broadcasts of the above sporting events.

　　Due to the Sandberg Refused to remove the disputed link, The plaintiff filed a criminal complaint for copyright infringement in Sweden, The defendants were fined and compensated for the losses of the rights holders. In the appeals process of the second trial, The appellate court found that the radio program in this case did not meet the originality requirement of copyright protection, Therefore, the corresponding contents of the first instance judgment were revised; However, it still believes that the plaintiff broadcasting organization has copyright-related rights to the radio program, Therefore, the judgment of the first instance on fines and damages is upheld.

　　The case was then appealed to Sweden's Supreme Court, The court of Cassation requested the European Court of Justice (Court of Justice) To make a preliminary determination on the following questions: Can member states "Give author more than "Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonization of certain contents such as copyright and related rights in the information society (The first 2001/29/EC No) " (Hereinafter referred to as "European Union regulation 2001/29/EC Number instruction" ) The first 3 (2) The protection of exclusive rights provided for in the article" ? 　　

[conclusion] 　　The European Court of Justice stated that, The understanding of the above-mentioned directive provisions should be based on the legislative purpose of the directive to unify copyright law. For that matter, Court order, The internal market operates according to the rules of free competition, Copyright protection needs to be coordinated and perfected as far as possible. Therefore, The European Court of Justice found it necessary to adjust barriers in member states' laws "The smooth functioning of the European internal market and the normal development of the information society" Stipulation of. In other words, "The purpose of the directive is not to exclude or avoid differences between the laws of Member States that do not affect the functioning of the internal market" , The Member States are therefore entitled to decide on their own what does not affect the legislative purpose of the directive.

　　In this case, European court of justice ruling, Swedish national law may grant broadcast organizers greater rights protection than is required by European law. 　　

[comment] 　　The case was adjudicated "European Union regulation 2001/29/EC Number instruction" and "The European Parliament and the Council on the lease of copyright in the field of intellectual property, Instructions on borrowing rights and other rights (The first 2006/115/EC No) " The requirement for uniformity of the laws of member states. The court held that, The unregulated part of the instruction, "European Union regulation 2001/29/EC Number instruction" Member States are not required to also avoid or remove different provisions that may exist between laws at the level of their national laws; correspondingly, For the content of the directive specification, Member states should harmonize their respective legal provisions. It's still worth noting, "European Union regulation 2006/115/EC Number instruction" stipulation, Member states can grant more rights to copyright neighbors, However, the author's copyright shall not be impaired.

　　compile: Liu Dan, Esabarry Legal Counsel　　source: Esabaril (ELZABURU) Intellectual property rights