CELEX: 62020CA0013
Language: en
Date: 2021-10-06 00:00:00
Title: Case C-13/20: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 6 October 2021 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour d’appel de Bruxelles — Belgium) — Top System SA v Belgian State (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Copyright and related rights — Legal protection of computer programs — Directive 91/250/EEC — Article 5 — Exceptions to the restricted acts — Acts necessary to enable the lawful purchaser to correct errors — Concept — Article 6 — Decompilation — Conditions)

6.12.2021   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 490/8
            
         
      Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 6 October 2021 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour d’appel de Bruxelles — Belgium) — Top System SA v Belgian State
      (Case C-13/20) (1)
      
      (Reference for a preliminary ruling - Copyright and related rights - Legal protection of computer programs - Directive 91/250/EEC - Article 5 - Exceptions to the restricted acts - Acts necessary to enable the lawful purchaser to correct errors - Concept - Article 6 - Decompilation - Conditions)
      (2021/C 490/05)
      Language of the case: French
      
         Referring court
      
      Cour d’appel de Bruxelles
      
         Parties to the main proceedings
      
      
         Applicant: Top System SA
      
         Defendant: Belgian State
      
         Operative part of the judgment
      
      
                  1.
               
               
                  Article 5(1) of Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer programs must be interpreted as meaning that the lawful purchaser of a computer program is entitled to decompile all or part of that program in order to correct errors affecting its operation, including where the correction consists in disabling a function that is affecting the proper operation of the application of which that program forms a part;
               
            
                  2.
               
               
                  Article 5(1) of Directive 91/250 must be interpreted as meaning that the lawful purchaser of a computer program who wishes to decompile that program in order to correct errors affecting the operation thereof is not required to satisfy the requirements laid down in Article 6 of that directive. However, that purchaser is entitled to carry out such a decompilation only to the extent necessary to effect that correction and in compliance, where appropriate, with the conditions laid down in the contract with the holder of the copyright in that program.
               
            
         (1)  OJ C 87, 16.3.2020.