Brussels, 11/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - A member state may, without the consent of the rightholders, authorise libraries to digitise books they hold in their collections so as to make them available at electronic reading points, the Court of Justice rules on Thursday 11 September. It stated, however, that library users may not be permitted to print out these books on paper or store them on a USB stick without payment of fair compensation being made to rightholders.
In coming to its judgment (case C-117/13), the Court followed the opinion of Advocate General Niilo Jääskinen delivered in June (see EUROPE 11095). It ruled that libraries open to the public may make use of exceptions provided for in the directive on copyright (2001/29/EC) to digitise works in their collections as they thus realise their core mission of promoting the public interest in encouraging research and private study. By then making these works available to individuals by means of dedicated terminals, the libraries are merely pursuing that same mission.
However, that right of communication has limits: libraries may not permit individuals to print out the works on paper or store them on a USB stick from the dedicated terminals. The printing out of a work or its storage on a USB stick are acts of reproduction, as this would be creating a new copy of the digital copy by the individuals themselves, the Court ruled. If, however, fair compensation to the rightholders is paid, copies of a digital copy may be printed off or stored on USB sticks. (JK)