The question, whether software licences for computer programs that were purchased in an intangible form (via download from the sellers’ server) can be resold by the first acquirer and used by the second buyer without consent of the right holder, has to be interpreted in light of the computer program directive 2009/24/EG.

For the full text of this case click here.

A summary of this case will be posted on www.KluwerIPCases.com

As reported by the Dutch commentator Lucie Guibault in her recent Blogpost the Dutch government (in the person of the secretary of state, Fred Teeven) plans to restrict the private copying limitation. Downloads from “obviously illegal sources” shall be declared unlawful. In Germany such a rule exists already, implemented in the course of the first and the second “Reform of the German Copyright in the Information Society” (the so called First and Second Basket). So far this step yielded no positive effects for the creators or the content industry. Quite the contrary!

No benefit for the rights holders whatsoever: The technical reason

On the one hand, the restriction of the private copy [...]

Due to massive lobbying of the German press publishers, the new conservative-liberal German Government declared in its coalition contract in late 2009: “Press Publishers shall not be discriminated against other disseminators of copyright protected works [e.g. film or music producers]. Therefore we aim at the introduction of a neighbouring right for press publishers to increase the protection of press publications on the Internet.”

At a first glance the demand of the publishers and the corresponding response of the politicians seem reasonable if not consequent: Different from other disseminators of copyrighted works (like e.g. film or music producers), press publishers have no own neighb [...]