EU Copyright Directive – Quo Vadis: First Steps Towards Its German Implementation

SUMMARY

• On June 7, 2019, the highly controversial EU Copyright Directive ("Directive") came into force, requiring EU Member States to transpose its provisions into national law by June 7, 2021.
• To recap, the most relevant provisions of the Directive require the implementation of the following rules into national law:
  • Online content-sharing service providers' liability for copyright-infringing content, Article 17
    Online content-sharing services are subject to direct liability for copyright-infringing content uploaded by their users if they fail to prove that they made "best efforts" to obtain the rights-holder's authorization or fail to evidence that they made "best efforts" to ensure the unavailability of such content. They are also liable if they fail to act expeditiously to take down uploads of work for which they have received a takedown notice.