The Autonomous Legal Concept of Communication to the Public: Interpretation in EU Copyright Law

The economic right of a copyright holder to communicate to the public has become an increasingly important and complex issue in recent years, this is partially due to changes in the way that content is accessed and consumed online. This innovative book analyses the right of communication to the public, taking account of what legal standing an autonomous legal concept can hold, and how this is impacted by wider harmonisation efforts at an EU level.

The book explores the scope of the right of communication to the public in a twofold manner: Firstly, it examines the legal standing and effect, from a constitutional perspective of an autonomous legal concept. Secondly, it analyses CJEU case law, grouping cases by type of communication model to demonstrate what kind of authorisation is required to permit widened communication to the public online. Marušić builds on both strands of analysis to propose an operational model of communication for future use, that can aid in identifying and remedying infringements.

Providing novel analysis on the definition and status of autonomous legal concepts in the EU, and setting this analysis against the context of harmonisation processes, this book will be of great interest to scholars working in both copyright law and EU law more widely.