Legal issues of hyperlinking in copyright and related rights
Legal issues of hyperlinking in copyright and related rights

Summary/Abstract: Hyperlinks are essential to the functioning of the internet because they facilitate seamless access to the content of various websites, but they raise serious copyright issues. This study examines the criteria established by the Court of Justice of the European Union for determining when a hyperlink constitutes “communication to the public”, and compares this approach with that of the United States, where disputes over hyperlinks are often treated as unfair competition rather than as copyright infringement. Through a comparative legal analysis and a review of case law, the study analyses leading cases such as Svensson, GS Media and Renckhoff, as well as the United States of America cases such as Ticketmaster v. Microsoft. The results reveal that while the European Union provides some guidance on the use of hyperlinks, it is not consistent across cases. In contrast, the United States of America law treats hyperlinks more as functional tools, which are often not subject to copyright control. This analysis highlights the difficulties of reconciling digital copyright protection with the functional nature of hyperlinking.

• Details
• Contents