Lawyer Monthly Magazine - May 2019 Edition

is the fact that hyperlinks to news articles accompanied by “individual words or very short extracts” are permitted to be shared freely without any issue of infringement. There are a few exclusions from the Directive, specifically memes or GIFs, which are a form of communication through the use of scenes of movies and other video or image material. What are inappropriate allegations of trademark infringement when regarding the internet? Even though the internet operates as a world wide web and content may be accessed by the whole world, trademark infringement is usually straightforward in the sense that a trademark will only be considered to be infringed if the alleged trademark or similar is used in such a way so as to create a likelihood of confusion as to the origin of the goods or services and the possibility of an association as Google News. Therefore, according to the Directive, journalists must get a share of any copyright-related profit gained by their news publisher. Even though this does not apply to private and non-commercial use of press publications, the introduction of this provision raises concerns on implementation and practicality. The amendments approved constitute a major change in the way data and content is presented online, especially since key internet platforms will now be liable for content that users upload, and they must in some way filter content in order to prevent copyright infringement. In saying that, the new directive amendments are vague in that there is no indication on how internet platforms may achieve the filtering process, something which is a great task especially given the large number of users. Adding to the vagueness of the amendment of the Directive, How much of an issue is copyright infringement now, in comparison to a decade ago, when the use of the internet was not as wide as it is today? Copyright infringement is by all means a serious legal issue. The internet, in all its glory, has complicated copyright protection to a great extent, given that people nowadays are able to share content throughout social media and the internet so easily. At the same time, however, copyright laws and regulations are applicable whether the infringement is taking place on the internet or not. What becomes more complicated through the use of the internet is the implementation of copyright law, given the transparent nature of the internet. The most recent development in EU regulations on copyright has proven to be a very strict approach to copyright infringement. On 26th March 2019, the revised proposal for amendment of the European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (“EU Copyright Directive”) was approved by the European Council. The EU Copyright Directive is designed to limit how copyrighted content is shared on online platforms. The new EU Copyright Directive passed by the European Council has been a controversial development, especially concerning Article 11 and Article 13 (former Articles 15 and 17 respectively). Article 13 states that “Online content sharing service providers and right holders shall cooperate in good faith in order to ensure that unauthorised protected works or other subject matter are not available on their services.” This means that major companies suchas Youtubeand Facebook will be forced to remove any content if it infringes on copyright and the responsibility is on the company in case of infringement. Contrary to the EU Directive, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of the United States, helps guarantee free speech on the internet with the provision that “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider”, a provision which gives legal protection to online platforms. Article 11 states that news publishers “may obtain fair and proportionate remuneration for the digital use of their press publications by information society service providers”, namely news platforms, such INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IP Issues on the Internet Allowing the globe to rapidly like, share and manipulate others’ content, the internet comes with several advantages, yet challenges alike. The IP sector is no different. We speak with Yiannos Georgiades about how the internet has impacted IP law and what issues are presented for inventors and artists alike. The most recent development in EU regulations on copyright has proven to be a very strict approach to copyright infringement. MAY 2019 38 Expert Insight www. lawyer-monthly .com