A meeting of the Council for Intellectual Property (Copyright Section) was held on 30 March 2017 in the context of the following assignment, given by the Council of Ministers: “The Government entrusts the Minister of Economy with the investigation of whether the current situation of direct injection via cable retransmission, in the light of the CJEU case-law, the activities currently taking place at EU level and after consulting the Council for Intellectual Property, leads to legal uncertainty and if so, which measures could be considered. The result of this study will be submitted to the Government by 30 April 2017.”
The issues around the technique of direct injection that are relevant for copyright were raised in the context of Directive 93/83/EEC and the technological progress that has since been made in the distribution of broadcasts. This problem continues to exist and evolve, since direct injection no longer happens strictly via cable.
This opinion takes a closer look at these issues by analysing the current relevant legislation and case-law concerning direct injection by the Intellectual Property Office. We start by examining the legal framework and proceed to look at the possible implications on economic relations. In addition, several points of view and remarks by the members of the Council for Intellectual Property are reflected in this opinion.
