ECJ: Hyperlink No Infringement, Even When Embedded

The ECJ recently rendered its eagerly awaited decision in the Svensson case. The Court held that the provision on a website of clickable links to works freely available on another website does not constitute an 'act of communication to the public' and therefore is not a copyright infringement. Only when the additional requirement of reaching a new public is met does the provision of a hyperlink require the copyright holder's authorisation.

The ECJ held that there was no new public because the public targeted by the initial communication consisted of all potential visitors to the site: the site was freely accessible without any access restrictions. This is different where a clickable link circumvents restrictions on the site on which the protected work appears or where the work is no longer available to the public on the site on which it was initially communicated. Users are considered a new public when the link constitutes an intervention without which those users