In brief: Court of Justice confirms that hotel rooms are excluded from broadcasters’ right (Verwertungsgesellschaft Rundfunk GmbH v Hettegger Hotel Edelweiss GmbH)

Published on: 28 February 2017

Published by: LexisPSL

In brief: Court of Justice confirms that hotel rooms are excluded from broadcasters’ right (Verwertungsgesellschaft Rundfunk GmbH v Hettegger Hotel Edelweiss GmbH)
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Article summary

IP & IT analysis: Lucie Fortune, associate at Bristows LLP, considers the case of Verwertungsgesellschaft Rundfunk GmbH v Hettegger Hotel Edelweiss GmbH. The Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed that the communication of television and radio broadcasts by means of TV sets installed in hotel rooms does not constitute a communication made in a place accessible to the public against payment of an entrance fee. This means that it is not within the scope of the exclusive right for broadcasting organisations to authorise or prohibit the communication to the public of their broadcasts under article 8(3) of the Rental and Lending Right Directive. Hotels may therefore furnish their rooms with TV sets broadcasting television and radio without being liable to pay fees to broadcasters (or collection societies on their behalf) under article 8(3). This decision follows Advocate General Szpunar’s Opinion of 25 October 2016 (reported on LexisNexis on 28 October 2016—see related documents). Sign in or take a trial to read the full analysis.