03/02/2020
CURIA - Documents
take and when that access provider can avoid incurring coercive penalties for breach of that injunction by showing
that it has taken all reasonable measures, provided that (i) the measures taken do not unnecessarily deprive
internet users of the possibility of lawfully accessing the information available and (ii) that those measures have the
effect of preventing unauthorised access to the protected subject-matter or, at least, of making it difficult to
achieve and of seriously discouraging internet users who are using the services of the addressee of that injunction
from accessing the subject-matter that has been made available to them in breach of the intellectual property right,
that being a matter for the national authorities and courts to establish.
The fourth question
In the light of the reply to the third question, it is not necessary to reply to the fourth question.
Costs
Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the
national court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court. Costs incurred in submitting observations to the
Court, other than the costs of those parties, are not recoverable.
On those grounds, the Court (Fourth Chamber) hereby rules:
Article 8(3) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on
the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society must be
interpreted as meaning that a person who makes protected subject-matter available to the public on a
website without the agreement of the rightholder, for the purpose of Article 3(2) of that directive, is
using the services of the internet service provider of the persons accessing that subject-matter, which
must be regarded as an intermediary within the meaning of Article 8(3) of Directive 2001/29.
The fundamental rights recognised by EU law must be interpreted as not precluding a court injunction
prohibiting an internet service provider from allowing its customers access to a website placing
protected subject-matter online without the agreement of the rightholders when that injunction does
not specify the measures which that access provider must take and when that access provider can
avoid incurring coercive penalties for breach of that injunction by showing that it has taken all
reasonable measures, provided that (i) the measures taken do not unnecessarily deprive internet users
of the possibility of lawfully accessing the information available and (ii) that those measures have the
effect of preventing unauthorised access to the protected subject-matter or, at least, of making it
difficult to achieve and of seriously discouraging internet users who are using the services of the
addressee of that injunction from accessing the subject-matter that has been made available to them in
breach of the intellectual property right, that being a matter for the national authorities and courts to
establish.
[Signatures]
* Language of the case: German.
curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=149924&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=4079936
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