Dutch Supreme Court: downloading from illegal source under private copying levy a violation of EU law?
In a landmark case between several computer hardware companies, Stichting Thuiskopie (the Dutch foundation responsible for inning private copying levies) and SONT, the Dutch Supreme Court has decided to ask the European Court of Justice several preliminary questions with regards to the admissibility of the current Dutch legal arrangement. Currently downloading from an illegal source (such as downloading illegal copies of movies via the Pirate Bay) is allowed under the scope of the home copying system.
Downloading from an illegal source is considered legal in the Netherlands, yet there has been a lot of debate concerning this policy. On December 8, 2011, the Dutch parliament decided against a ban on downloading from illegal sources. Instead, parliament wanted to extend the current copyright levy to all forms of data carriers, such as hard drives and smart phones. Now, the Dutch Supreme Court wonders if not only that decision, but also the entire home copy system is in compliance with the European Copyright Directive (DIRECTIVE 2001/29/EC).
The Supreme Court wonders whether the construction, used in article 16 of the Dutch Copyright Act, which regulates private copying, and currently is considered to include downloading from an illegal source under its scope, is in line with European legislation. The European Court of Justice now has to answer these question.
We will give a more extensive report on this case on Monday.
Source: Webwereld, Rechtspraak.nl
Written by: Nathalie Falot
Comments(3)
Byte
And that so soon AFTER the elections...
phulshof
Either way, it is a good thing that this will finally be clarified by the ECoJ.
Future of Copyright
Later today we will post a more extensive (legal) report on this case.
As for now: I agree that it's a good thing the Dutch Supreme Court asks the ECJ for clarification on the Dutch system. However, as with most preliminary questions, it can take a while before these questions are answered. A lot can happen meanwhile.
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