A German court ordered Google to install filters on its YouTube services in Germany in order to detect and stop people from accessing copyright infringing material.
While not holding Google fully liable for the uploaded material, Judge Heiner Steeneck did say that the company needed to do more to stop violations. The court order issued on April 20, 2012, however, is for Google a happy departure from the request made by GEMA, the German association that imposes and collects royalties on recorded media. GEMA had demanded that Google sort through its entire online music archive and remove all copyrighted material from its system. The judge rejected the request.
Google is expected to appeal the ruling and reattempt negotiations for royalty payments with GEMA to have its copyrighted material permissibly available on YouTube in the future. Since 2009, when a previous agreement between the two parties expired, GEMA’s copyrighted materials have been unavailable on YouTube. In 2010 GEMA sued Google over 12 infringing videos.
While the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act and its take-down notice procedures makes the U.S. a safe place for intermediary services like YouTube, this recent ruling could lead Germany to be more pro-copyright and result in more severe consequences for digital platforms in Germany’s future.
Lizbeth Hasse
Lizbeth Hasse is the founder of Creative Industry Law. Her practice encompasses intellectual property, media, entertainment and business counseling for corporate and individual clients. She is also a neutral expert in these areas, negotiating and resolving IP, business and media matters.
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