Most people are aware that copying and pasting content from a
third party website without permission infringes copyright in that
content. But what if you link rather than copy? When do you need
the copyright owner's permission to link?
The general principle – freedom of the internet
A string of European Court of Justice (CJEU) cases (including
Svensson1) establish that once a copyright holder has
made their work freely available on the internet, third parties may
link to it or frame it without the copyright holder's
permission. Previous cases also establish that permission is
required if the link circumvents technical measures designed to
prevent linking (or framing, which also involves a link). In other
words, where such technical measures are in place, the content is
not to be regarded as freely available and linking can be opposed.
A key question is, however, whether there are other ways in which
the copyright holder can restrict the freedom to link to
