Europe’s top court has confirmed that Google-owned Youtube as well as other tech companies are not liable for copyright-infringing works uploaded by users onto their platforms under certain conditions.
The case marks the latest development in a long-running battle between Europe’s $1 trillion creative industry and online platforms.
“As currently stands, operators of online platforms do not, in principle, themselves make a communication to the public of copyright-protected content illegally posted online by users of those platforms,”
the EU Court of Justice said.
YouTube found itself in hot water following a lawsuit filed against them by music producer Frank Peterson.
Peterson had sued the company and Google in Germany over the uploading to YouTube by users in 2008 of several clips to which he holds the rights to.
EU Top Court: Youtube Not Liable For User Copyright Breaches Under Certain Conditions
In a second case, publishing group Elsevier took legal action against file-hosting service Cyando in Germany after its users uploaded several Elsevier works on its platform Uploaded in 2013 without its approval.
The German court subsequently sought advice from the EU Court of Justice, which ruled on both cases on Tuesday.
