Collective management organisations entrusted with exemptions from payment and reimbursements must grant this in accordance with objective criteria which do not allow that legal person to refuse an application on the basis of considerations and the decisions of that legal person refusing such an application may be challenged before an independent body. National legislation which provides that exemption certificates in respect of compensation for private copying and reimbursements must be granted in good time on the basis of objective criteria which do not entail any discretion on the part of the person competent to examine applications submitted for that purpose is, in principle, capable of complying regards the requirements arising from Article 5(2)(b) of the directive. In order to avoid any risk of bias on the part of such a legal person in the grant of exemption certificates and reimbursements it must be possible to challenge the decisions of that legal person refusing to grant such a certificate or reimbursement before an independent body, whether judicial or otherwise. Collective management organisations may request access to the information necessary for the exercise of the powers of review. In so far as the information in question is confidential, the legal person and the management organisations which become aware of such information in the context of their duties are required to safeguard the confidential nature of that information.
Case C-263/21. In the present case, it is clear from the request for a preliminary ruling that the case in the main proceedings concerns the Spanish system for collecting compensation for private copying, the referring court having before it an application for annulment of certain provisions of Royal Decree 1398/2018, which implements Article 25 of the Law on Intellectual Property; an article which provides, inter alia, for the creation of a legal person responsible for managing the system of compensation for private copying. Directive 2001/29 contains only one provision relating to such compensation, namely Article 5(2)(b) thereof. In addition, the referring court expressly refers to the principle of equality between debtors and creditors of the compensation in question, in the light of which it is called upon to examine the legality of the provisions at issue before it, without mentioning any other general principles of EU law whose interpretation it considers to be at stake.
Preliminary questions:
(1) Is the form of composition of the legal person provided for in paragraph 10 of the new Article 25 of the [Law on Intellectual Property] compatible with Directive [2001/29] or, more generally, with the general principles of EU law?
(2) Is it compatible with Directive [2001/29] or with the general principles of EU law for national legislation to confer on the aforementioned legal person powers to request information, including accounting information, from those applying for a certificate of exemption from the obligation to pay compensation for private copying?
Ruling of CJEU:
1. Both Article 5(2)(b) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society and the principle of equal treatment
must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation under which a legal person established and controlled by intellectual property rights management organisations is entrusted with the management of (i) exemptions from payment in respect of compensation for private copying and (ii) reimbursements in respect of such compensation, where that national legislation provides that exemption certificates and reimbursements must be granted in good time and in accordance with objective criteria which do not allow that legal person to refuse an application for the granting of such a certificate or of reimbursement on the basis of considerations involving the exercise of discretion and that the decisions of that legal person refusing such an application may be challenged before an independent body.
2. Article 5(2)(b) of Directive 2001/29 and the principle of equal treatment
must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which empowers a legal person, which is established and controlled by intellectual property rights management organisations and which is entrusted with the management of (i) exemptions from payment in respect of compensation for private copying and (ii) reimbursements in respect of such compensation, to request access to the information necessary for the exercise of the powers of review conferred on it in that regard, without it being possible, in particular, for the person under review to rely on the confidentiality of business accounts provided for by national law, that legal person being obliged to safeguard the confidential nature of the information obtained.
ECLI:EU:C:2022:644 and Case C‑263/21
