The European Harmonisation of Intermediary Liability in Copyright

Abstract: While primary copyright liability enjoys a high degree of harmonisation in the European Union, accessory or secondary liability remains almost entirely unharmonised. As a result, the liability of internet intermediaries for third party copyright infringements committed through their services is also a fragmented issue, the relevant rules differing from Member State to Member State. The only EU-level provisions that exist at the moment are the safe harbours introduced in 2000 with the E-Commerce Directive, which protect intermediaries in the provision of certain intermediary activities. Based on the speaker’s PhD research, this talk will examine how the current limited harmonisation can be further built upon: how can EU law move beyond the safe harbours to craft a truly substantive harmonisation of the rules governing the liability of internet intermediaries for third party copyright infringements?