#tomkabinet

[itsallaboutit]

AG Szpunar advises CJEU to rule that internet downloads of ebooks are covered by right of communication to the public, not distribution (so, no, there is no digital exhaustion under InfoSoc Directive)

The IPKat blog reports on copyright, patent, trade mark, info-tech and privacy/confidentiality issues from a mainly UK and European perspective.

The EU Advocate General concluded in his opinion in the Tom Kabinet-case (Case C-263/18) that the “rule of exhaustion” does not cover ebooks and thus ends the question whether the UsedSoft-decision also applies to ebooks accordingly (for now). He hints that both legal and teleological arguments are in favor of the “rule of exhaustion”, however, EU law as it now stands does not give such interpretation. This topic will certainly keep us busy for a while: TBC.

Imagine if the “rule of exhaustion” would apply to ebooks and what this would mean for libraries...