Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

Case C‑469/17

Funke Medien NRW GmbH

v

Bundesrepublik Deutschland

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof)

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber), 29 July 2019

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Copyright and related rights — Directive 2001/29/EC — Information Society — Harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights — Article 2(a) — Reproduction right — Article 3(1) — Communication to the public — Article 5(2) and (3) — Exceptions and limitations — Scope — Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union)

1. Approximation of laws — Copyright and related rights — Directive 2001/29 — Harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society — Scope — Work — Concept — Independent and uniform interpretation — Classification of an object as a work — Cumulative conditions — Assessment by the national court

   (European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/29, Arts 2(a) and 3(1))

   (see paragraphs 18-20, 22-24)
2. Approximation of laws — Copyright and related rights — Directive 2001/29 — Harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society — Rights of reproduction and communication to the public — Measures of full harmonisation — Exceptions and limitations — Reporting of current events and quotations — No full harmonisation — Limits — Compliance with EU law

   (European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/29, Arts 2(a), 3(1) and 5(3)(c) and (d))

   (see paragraphs 38, 42, 46, 54, operative part 1)
3. Approximation of laws — Copyright and related rights — Directive 2001/29 — Harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society — Rights reproduction and of communication to the public — Exceptions and limitations — Scope — Freedom of expression and of information — Not included

   (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 11; European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/29, Arts 2(a), 3(1) and 5(2) and (3))

   (see paragraphs 56, 64, operative part 2)
4. Approximation of laws — Copyright and related rights — Directive 2001/29 — Harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society — Rights reproduction and of communication to the public — Exceptions and limitations — Reporting of current events and quotations — National court to strike a balance — Conformity with the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter

   (European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/29, Arts 2(a), 3(1) and 5(3)(c) and (d))

   (see paragraphs 71, 76, operative part 3)

Résumé

In the judgment of 29 July 2019, Funke Medien NRW (C‑469/17), the Grand Chamber of the Court interpreted the exclusive rights of authors to reproduce and communicate to the public their works as well as the exceptions and limitations to those rights, as provided for in Directive 2001/29, (
[1](#t-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0001)
) in the context of the publication of classified military status reports drawn up by a Member State on the website of a daily newspaper.

The case in the main proceedings involved the company Funke Medien, operator of the website of the German daily newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, and the Federal Republic of Germany, concerning the publication by Funke Medien of certain military status reports ‘classified for restricted access’ drawn up by the German Government. The Federal Republic of Germany, taking the view that Funke Medien thereby infringed its copyright over the reports, brought an action for an injunction against Funke Medien, which was granted by a regional court and subsequently upheld on appeal by a higher regional court. In its appeal on a point of law (Revision), brought before the referring court, Funke Medien maintained its contention that the action for an injunction should be dismissed.

As a preliminary point, the Court recalled that the military status reports can be protected by copyright only if those reports are the intellectual creation of their author reflecting the author’s personality and expressing his or her free and creative choices in drafting those reports, which must be ascertained by the national court in each case.

Addressing, first of all, the question as to whether the provisions of Directive 2001/29 allow the Member States any discretion in their transposition into national law, the Court considered those provisions on the authors’ exclusive rights of reproduction (
[2](#t-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0002)
) and of communication to the public of their works (
[3](#t-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0003)
) constitute measures of full harmonisation of the corresponding substantive law. On the other hand, the Court held that the provisions of Directive 2001/29 permitting exception to those exclusive rights and concerning the reporting of current events and quotations (
[4](#t-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0004)
) do not constitute measure of full harmonisation of the scope of the relevant exceptions or limitations which they contain. The Member States’ discretion in the implementation of those provisions must, however, be exercised within the limits imposed by EU law in order to safeguard a fair balance between, on the one hand, the interests of rightholders in the protection of their intellectual property rights (
[5](#t-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0005)
) as guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’) and, on the other hand, the rights and interests of users of works or protected subject matter, in particular their freedom of expression and information, (
[6](#t-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0006)
) also guaranteed by the Charter, as well as the public interest.

Next, the Court specified that freedom of expression and freedom of information are not capable of justifying, beyond the exceptions and limitations provided for in Directive 2001/29, (
[7](#t-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0007)
) a derogation from the author’s exclusive rights of reproduction and of communication to the public of their works other than those set out in that directive. In that regard, the Court recalled that the list of exceptions and limitations set out in Directive 2001/29 is exhaustive.

Finally, according to the Court, in striking the balance which is incumbent on a national court to undertake between the exclusive rights of the authors to reproduce and communicate their works to the public, on the one hand, and the rights of the users of protected subject matter set out in the exceptions contained in Directive 2001/29 for the reporting of current events and quotations, on the other hand, a national court must, having regard to all the circumstances of the case before it, rely on an interpretation of those provisions which, whilst consistent with their wording and safeguarding their effectiveness, fully adheres to the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter.

---

(
[1](#c-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0001)
) 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 ([OJ 2001 L 167, p. 10](./../../../legal-content/EN/AUTO/?uri=OJ:L:2001:167:TOC)).

(
[2](#c-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0002)
) Article 2(a) of Directive 2001/29.

(
[3](#c-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0003)
) Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29.

(
[4](#c-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0004)
) Article 5(3)(c), second case, and (d) of Directive 2001/29.

(
[5](#c-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0005)
) Article 17(2) of the Charter.

(
[6](#c-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0006)
) Article 11 of the Charter.

(
[7](#c-ECR_62017CJ0469_RES_EN_01-E0007)
) Article 5(2) and (3) of Directive 2001/29.

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