Day 1 (April 15, 2024): Author’s contracts

The EU Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive (DSM Directive) provides for several mandatory provisions of contract law, aimed at protecting creators against unfair contracts. These include a right to fair compensation, a “bestseller clause”, a right of reversion, and a transparency obligation. This session will assess these new provisions and examine how they work out in practice.

Day 2 (April 16, 2024): Platform liability

The DSM Directive has also introduced controversial and complex new rules that establish direct copyright liability for online content sharing platforms, such as YouTube (Article 17 DSM Directive). This session focuses on the obligations that Article 17 imposes on the operators of large platforms, and the conditions for invoking immunity (notably, best efforts to license and content filtering). Additionally, we will look at the new right of press publishers that was introduced by Article 15 of the Directive.

Day 3 (April 17, 2024): Database protection

Over 25 years ago, the Database Directive (Directive 96/9/EC) introduced a sui generis right that protects database producers against misappropriation of their investments. In 2024, the database right remains controversial and its contours unclear, as recent case law of the Court of Justice of the EU demonstrates. In this session we will critically examine the subject matter and scope of protection of the database right, and discuss recent case law.

Day 4 (April 18, 2024): Copyright and AI

The emergence of powerful artificial intelligence, especially large language models such as ChatGPT, is a cause of serious concern and unimaginable opportunity in the creative sectors. The rise of AI also poses immense challenges to the system of EU copyright law. In this session we will focus on the use of protected content for the purpose of training AI models, in the light of the DSM Directive’s “text and data mining” provisions. We will also examine whether AI-assisted output qualifies for protection as a “work”.

Day 5 (April 19, 2024): Copyright & industrial design

Copyright law and industrial design (works of applied art) have always been uneasy bedfellows. Whereas copyright traditionally protects artistic creations, industrial design is heavily constricted by utilitarian and technical considerations. This session sets out the legal framework for protecting industrial design under EU law, and examines recent decisions of the EU Court of Justice.