Like public libraries the world over, Dutch libraries lend materials from their collections to the public. However, those materials may be protected by copyright. Consequently, Dutch law requires Dutch libraries to pay money to the copyright holders every single time a book is lent. The legal question in this case is whether that obligation extends to an ‘e-book’, and the answer depends on the word ‘lending’ in the EU’s ‘rental and lending rights’ Directive 2006/115/EC.
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Case C-117/13, Technische Universität Darmstadt – introducing modern EU copyright law
When a university library scans a book to permit the electronic reading of a book, can the book’s publisher put a stop to this unauthorised reproduction? And can a German university successfully invoke a ‘library’ exception enshrined in the EU’s InfoSoc Directive 2001/29?
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