Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
In theory, the concepts of primary and accessory liability appear quite distinct. Primary liability results from a direct wrongdoing, whereas accessory liability requires participation in the wrongdoing carried out by somebody else. Until recently, the conventional wisdom was that EU copyright law harmonized primary, but not accessory liability for copyright infringement, only touching upon the latter in its rules on injunctions against intermediaries and through the safe harbors immunizing certain internet intermediaries against liability. In its recent copyright case law, the CJEU has upended these assumptions by taking it upon itself to fashion a harmonized accessory liability regime for copyright out of the exclusive economic rights afforded to the copyright owner. With the adoption of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSMD), the EU legislator has further calibrated this harmonization of accessory copyright liability. This chapter tracks this evolution and discusses its consequences for EU copyright law.

Angelopoulos, Christina, Primary and Accessory Liability in EU Copyright Law (August 26, 2020) in E Rosati (ed), The Routledge Handbook of European Copyright Law, Routledge, forthcoming.

First posted 2020-10-18 18:17:28