Youtube handed major victory in EU copyright battle
The EU has ruled that Youtube is not responsible for copyright-infringing material uploaded to its platform by users, marking a major victory for the social media firm.
Music producer Frank Peterson took Youtube and parent company Google to court in Germany after users uploaded several phonograms to which he owns the rights in 2008.
Publisher Elsevier, which is part of London-listed Relx, then sued file-hosting service Cyando after several of its works were posted online without its approval in 2013.
The cases were taken to the EU Court of Justice, which ruled in favour of the online platforms today.
But it said the companies could be held responsible if they failed to take quick action to remove or block action to the content or if they failed to put in place the necessary technology to counteract copyright breaches.
“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 judges said.
“However, those operators do make such a communication in breach of copyright where they contribute, beyond merely making those platforms available, to giving access to such content to the public.”
Copyright clash
The ruling marks a significant win for Youtube and other online platforms in a long-running dispute with creative industries.
Musicians, record labels and other content creators have waged war with the social media giant amid complaints about widespread copyright infringement on the site.
The EU last year overhauled its copyright rules for the first time in two decades, requiring platforms such as Youtube and Instagram to install filters to prevent users from uploaded content illegally.
It also comes amid wider scrutiny over whether tech companies should be held liable for the material posted to their platforms.
In Australia the government has cracked down on social media giants for failing to pay for news content, while similar licensing deals have been inked with publishers in the UK.
The UK has also announced the launch of a new digital regulator, whose remit will include holding companies responsible for posts on their platforms.
The European Commission has outlined plans for a wide-ranging Digital Services Act that would impose similar rules on tech firms and hefty firms for non-compliance.
The draft rules must be agreed by the bloc’s member states and the EU’s legal body before they can become law.
A Youtube spokesperson said: “Youtube is a leader in copyright and supports rights holders being paid their fair share.”
“That’s why we’ve invested in state of the art copyright tools which have created an entirely new revenue stream for the industry. In the past 12 months alone we have paid $4bn to the music industry, over 30 per cent of which comes from monetised user generated content.”