Recent CJEU Rulings on Communication to the Public and Intermediaries: primary, secondary or unitary liability?"

In its recent judgments in GS Media, Filmspeler and The Pirate Bay, the CJEU has dealt with copyright infringement in situations (linking, sale of dangerous devices, platforms) which would traditionally have been dealt with under concepts of accessory liability. The CJEU seems to be developing a concept of unitary liability which does not distinguish between primary and secondary liability and which has the potential of replacing the established national doctrines in this field. This presentation will analyse the recent CJEU judgments and look into the merits and dangers of a harmonised Union law approach to the liability of intermediaries.

Ansgar Ohly holds the Chair of Private Law, Intellectual Property and Competition Law at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford and a Visiting Senior Member of St Peter’s College Oxford. He has published widely on all areas of intellectual property law and the law of unfair competition law, with a special emphasis on European developments and the comparison of civil law and common law systems. He is the co-editor of GRUR, the leading German intellectual property journal, and of the commentary on German copyright law founded by G. Schricker.

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Each year the OIPRC hosts a number of leading academics from around the world as part of its Invited Speaker Series. These events typically run from 5:15-6:45pm on Thursday evenings at St. Peter’s College; if the venue or time is different, it will be noted on the Events calendar.  The Speaker Series consists of a presentation of about 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A session with the assembled group of academic staff, students (both undergraduate and graduate), researchers, and interested members of the public.  Discussion is informal and includes participants from several disciplines, with a wide range of prior knowledge.

Convenors: Dev Gangjee and Robert Pitkethly

Refreshments and snacks are served at the conclusion of the discussion.  All are welcome.