Holder of right to distribute allowed to prohibit offers for sale or targeted advertisement
15-05-2015 Print this page
A holder of an exclusive right to distribute is allowed to prohibit offers for sale or targeted advertisement, even if it is not established that the advertisement gave rise to the purchase of that protected work by an EU buyer, in so far as that advertisement invited EU consumers to purchase it.
"In the light of the foregoing considerations, the answer to the questions referred is that Article 4(1) of Directive 2001/29 must be interpreted as meaning that it allows a holder of an exclusive right to distribute a protected work to prevent an offer for sale or a targeted advertisement of the original or a copy of that work, even if it is not established that that advertisement gave rise to the purchase of the protected work by an EU buyer, in so far as that that advertisement invites consumers of the Member State in which that work is protected by copyright to purchase it."
It is irrelevant for an infringement of the distribution right, that such advertising is not followed by the transfer of ownership of work
"31 There may be an infringement of the exclusive distribution right, under Article 4(1) of Directive 2001/29, where a trader, who does not hold the copyright, sells protected works or copies thereof and addresses an advertisement, through its website, by direct mail or in the press, to consumers located in the territory of the Member State in which those works are protected in order to invite them to purchase it.
It follows from that conclusion that it is irrelevant, for a finding of an infringement of the distribution right, that such advertising is not followed by the transfer of ownership of the protected work or a copy thereof to the purchaser."
IPPT20150513, CJEU, Dimensione v Knoll
C-516/13 - ECLI:EU:C:2015:315
