Recent Opinion - Hyperlinking To Unauthorised Content

In a recent opinion of Advocate General Wathelet, hyperlinking to unauthorised content on the internet may not amount to copyright infringement. This is the case even if the "hyperlinker" was aware or ought to have been aware that the linked content had not been authorised by the copyright.

Article 3 of Directive 2001/29 states that EU member states must provide authors of copyright works with the exclusive right to authorise or prohibit any communication to the public of their works, by wire or wireless means, including the making available to the public of their works in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.