Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 13 February 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Svea hovrätt - Sweden) – Nils Svensson, Sten Sjögren, Madelaine Sahlman, Pia Gadd v Retriever Sverige AB
(Case C-466/12) 1
(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Approximation of laws – Copyright and related rights – Directive 2001/29/EC – Information society – Harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights – Article 3(1) – Communication to the public – Meaning – Internet links (‘clickable links’) giving access to protected works)
Language of the case: Swedish
Referring court
Svea hovrätt
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicants: Nils Svensson, Sten Sjögren, Madelaine Sahlman, Pia Gadd
Defendant: Retriever Sverige AB
Re:
Request for a preliminary ruling – Svea Hovrätt – Interpretation of Article 3(1) 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 (OJ 2001 L 167, p. 10) – Research and monitoring website offering its subscribers a service of access to protected works, in return for payment – Provision by a person other than the author of the work or his assignees of a link on the former’s web page giving access to the work.
Operative part of the judgment
Article 3(1) 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 the provision on a website of clickable links to works freely available on another website does not constitute an ‘act of communication to the public’, as referred to in that provision;
Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29 must be interpreted as precluding a Member State from giving wider protection to copyright holders by laying down that the concept of communication to the public includes a wider range of activities than those referred to in that provision.
____________1 OJ C 379, 8.12.2012.