PhD student: Dr S. Kulk

Promotors: Mrs Prof M. de Cock Buning, Mrs Dr E.F.D. Engelhard

Duration: 1/12/2011 - 31/12/2014

PhD defence: Utrecht, 21/11/2018

Abstract:

Copyright owners and their representatives increasingly target online intermediaries (hereafter: intermediaries) to enforce their rights. Two European Union Directives are relevant to the liability of intermediaries for copyright infringement: the Infosoc Directive, which harmonized copyright law, and the E-Commerce Directive, which inter alia provides for a limited liability regime for intermediaries. These directives were crafted during the advent of the Web 2.0, which meant the rise of user created content, large-scale online collaboration, social networks and advanced sharing of information. The Infosoc Directive was supposed to be technology-neutral and adapted copyright regulation to respond to technological developments lying ahead. This research deals with the question whether the concepts of reproduction and communication to the public, which define the scope of copyright, and the concepts of the E-commerce Directive providing for liability exemptions for intermediaries, allowed to respond to technological developments, while keeping in mind copyrights balance of protection and freedom of information. It will also deal with future possible technological developments that may challenge these copyright and intermediary liability paradigms.