Today is World Intellectual Property day which has been devised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation to “raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life” and “to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators to the development of societies” around the world.
As a result, we here at Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP wanted to bring you the best story to demonstrate the most recent implications and changes in Intellectual Property Law on this momentous of all IP-related-days.
Due to a very recent opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice in the European Union, the laws on European and (by association should an applicable directive be issued by the EU pending a decision upholding such opinion) English piracy and infringement of intellectual property could, in the near future, be subject to having a large-scale loop-hole available to those seeking to circumvent the system in this regard.
The potential impact of said opinion if this is implemented is that file and music companies could now find it even harder to conclude successful actions against those displaying their content (via piracy) on pirated websites.
The position prior to this momentous opinion was that no action could be taken against an individual who viewed a pirated movie or listened to a pirated music stream on their computer or other portable electronic device.
However, the recent opinion, if implemented in the future via decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union , would result in, any website which links to another website displaying pirated material, would not infringe copyright. This indeed, would be the case even if the website making the link available knew full well that the material was unlawful, and even if they charged for access to that material.
The implications should this opinion be cemented in to law in the future, would be absolutely immense and would impact on both intellectual property and privacy laws throughout the European Union.
Whilst not law as of today’s date, the fact that such opinion has been discussed and raised, is a potential indication of how the various European Intellectual Property Offices are viewing the situation, in what is fast becoming, a losing battle against piracy.
At Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP we can assist you with all of the your copyright and intellectual property requirements, from IP registration, to copyright protection and enforcement proceedings. Should you wish to discuss your intellectual property or that of your business, please contact our Corporate Commercial Department on 01245 584515 or [email protected]