Case C-211/23: Action brought on 31 March 2023 — European Commission v Portuguese Republic
Date: 2023-03-31
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: copyright, digital single market, digital technology, directive (EU), national implementing measure, sanction (EU)








C_2023179EN.01002101.xml










22.5.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 179/21






Action brought on 31 March 2023 — European Commission v Portuguese Republic
(Case C-211/23)
(2023/C 179/31)
Language of the case: Portuguese

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: J. Samnadda and I. Melo Sampaio, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Portuguese Republic

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court of Justice should:






(1)


declare that, by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC, (1) and by failing to communicate those provisions to the Commission, the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 29(1) and (2) of that directive;










(2)


order the Portuguese Republic to make a lump sum payment to the Commission, corresponding to the higher of the following two amounts: (i) a daily amount of EUR 4 600 multiplied by the number of days between the day following the expiry of the period for transposition laid down by Directive 2019/790 and the date on which the infringement is brought to an end or, should that infringement not be brought to an end, the date of delivery of the judgment; or (ii) a minimum lump sum payment of EUR 1 288 000;










(3)


if, on the date of delivery of the judgment in the present proceedings, the infringement declared pursuant to point 1 persists, order the Portuguese Republic to pay the Commission a periodic penalty payment of EUR 27 600 per day from the date of the judgment in the present proceedings up until the date on which that Member State fulfils its obligations under Directive 2019/790; and










(4)


order the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments

Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC, updates the rules relating to copyright, so as to take into account digital technologies, which have transformed the way in which creative content is produced, distributed and accessed. Article 29(1) of that directive sets 7 June 2021 as the time limit for transposition by the Member States. Under Article 29(2), ‘Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive’.
On 23 June 2021, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the Portuguese Republic. On 19 May 2022, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to that Member State. Nonetheless, measures transposing that directive in full have yet to be adopted or, in any event, communicated to the Commission.


(1)  OJ 2019 L 130, p. 92.