News outlets are permitted on some grounds to use a copyrighted work for reporting a current event. Volker Beck, a German politician authored an article in 1988. Mr. Beck alleged that Spiegel Online published one of his articles without his permission.
The plaintiff filed a case of copyright infringement before the Court. The case is about copyright infringement but the question of fact and law is to what extent the 2001 EU Copyright Directive harmonizes the exceptions to the exclusive rights of copyright owners.
The Fundamental right and Copyright tussled in this case. Freedom of information and freedom of the press are enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Both laws are given the same priorities. Spiegel Online is the most frequently quoted online media product in Germany.
According to Mr. Beck, the publisher of the book ignored his rights and claims. Spiegel Online denied the grounds of the allegation made by Mr. Beck. Further, they said that the article was hyperlinked, means a link from a hypertext document to another location, activated by clicking on a highlighted word or image. The judgment of a Lower Court of Germany was in favour of Mr. Beck. The defendant appealed against the judgment before the Federal Court.
The Federal Court referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to decide on some vital law points. It was difficult to decide to balance Freedom of Press and Copyright of an author. The Court pointed out some facts that quotations can be hyperlinked subject to exceptions. The hyperlinked article should be publicly available with the permission of the copyright holder.
In brief, the Court stated that the use of the article other than the owner should be under fair practice. Fundamental rights are not capable of justifying beyond the exceptions or limitations provided for in the directive in that regard.
In 2013, Mr. Beck's manuscript was discovered during archival research and was presented to him on September 17, 2013. That time he was a candidate in the parliamentary elections in Germany.
Mr Beck made this manuscript available to various newspaper editors on the following day to show that it had been modified by the publisher for the purpose of publishing the article in question. There was no permission by Mr Beck to publish these manuscripts and articles by this editor.
The Court emphasized on Article 5(3) of the Directive 2001/29. The Court ordered the national court to find whether the article was available on the website to consult independently. The Court also directed the national court to observe that whether the news telecasted on current event and the event is related to the public interest.
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