ECJ Strengthens Copyright Protection – Judgment of October 24, 2024 – C-227/23
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has reinforced copyright protection for works originating from countries outside the European Union. In its judgment of October 24, 2024, the ECJ clarified that works from third countries enjoy the same copyright protection as those from EU Member States (Ref. C-227/23).
With this decision, the ECJ addressed the significant question of whether the country of origin of a work influences copyright protection within the EU. The court ruled in the negative. According to EU Directive 2001/29, copyright protection also applies to works from third countries outside the EU. The directive, in the ECJ’s view, takes precedence over the so-called Berne Convention of 1886, according to the law firm MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte, which provides advice on copyright and other IP law matters.
Copyright Dispute Over a Designer Chair
The ECJ ruled on a copyright dispute between a Swiss company and a Dutch enterprise. The Swiss company owns the copyright to a designer chair that originally originated in the United States. The Dutch company operates a chain of furniture stores in the Netherlands and Belgium and markets a chair strongly resembling the US-originated designer chair owned by the Swiss company. Consequently, the Swiss company sought to prohibit the marketing of the chair. The legal dispute reached the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, which referred the matter to the ECJ. The court in Luxembourg was asked to determine whether a work of applied art from a third country, whose author is not an EU citizen, enjoys the same copyright protection as a work from an EU Member State.
To strengthen copyright protection, the Berne Convention was established in 1886. Originally, it served to protect literary and artistic works abroad, as they could otherwise be imitated and freely distributed outside the country of origin where they were copyright-protected. Over the years, the Berne Convention has been revised multiple times.
Copyright Protection Under the Berne Convention
The core principle of the Berne Convention is that authors from signatory states enjoy the same rights in other signatory states as domestic authors. However, this does not apply unconditionally to works of applied art, such as designer furniture. Here, the so-called material reciprocity clause applies. According to this clause, works protected only as designs or models in their countries of origin, but not recognized as artistic works, cannot claim copyright protection in the signatory countries.
The ECJ has now ruled that this material reciprocity clause does not apply to works from third countries. It explained that applying the clause would undermine the objective of EU Directive 2001/29 to harmonize copyright within the internal market. The clause’s application could lead to inconsistent treatment of works of applied art originating from third countries within EU Member States. However, Directive 2001/29 stipulates that all works claiming protection in the EU must be treated equally, regardless of their country of origin.
Material Reciprocity Clause Not Applicable
The ECJ further ruled that individual Member States cannot independently restrict the rights granted under the directive by invoking the Berne Convention. Accordingly, a Member State cannot deviate from Union law to apply the material reciprocity clause to works from third countries such as the United States, the Luxembourg court emphasized. National laws impairing the copyright of such works may not be enforced under ECJ jurisprudence.
Additionally, the ECJ underscored that intellectual property rights are protected under Article 17(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR), and any restriction of these rights must be legally stipulated under Article 52(1) of the Charter.
For legal matters in copyright or other IP law topics, MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte is your competent contact.
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