Summary and Conclusion—Copyright and the CJEU: Role, Action, Legacy

The role of the CJEU in shaping the EU copyright framework has been of paramount importance. Further to a fragmentary approach to copyright harmonization and a resulting legislative framework whose provisions have proved to be rather inscrutable or altogether challenging to interpret, also in light of the issues arising out of technological advancement and new modalities of exploitation and infringement of copyright works and other protected subject matter, national courts have increasingly relied on the instrument of references for a preliminary ruling. As of today, in the context of the relatively brief history of EU copyright and within a timeframe of less than twenty years, the CJEU has issued several key preliminary rulings....