Il Sole 24 Ore against L’Eco della Stampa: copyright on digital publishing

Upon request of Il Sole 24 Ore S.p.A., by resolution no. 169/20/CONS of May 5, 2020, the Italian Authority AGCOM ordered L’Eco della Stampa S.p.A. to remove several digital publications posted in its online press release. In particular, the italian newspaper reported the presence on the site “new.ecostampa.net” of many articles published in violation of its copyright. AGCOM, therefore, agreed with the claims raised by Il Sole 24 Ore. The reproduction of the contents in question was in fact reserved.

Ambush marketing in the Italian Official Gazette

With the publication in the Italian Official Gazette of the Law no. 31/2020, provisions on “ambush marketing” have entered into force. By this term is meant the association of a brand to a media event without the consent of the organizers.
The Decree Law 11 March 2020, n. 16, dedicates an entire chapter, i.e. Articles 10-14, to the regulation of the prohibition of parasitic activities at sports events and events of national and international importance.

EUIPO Observatory: the new orientations of Europe case-law

The European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights has published the latest version of its case law collection.
In particular, the Observatory gathers the main opinions on the protection of intellectual property rights and makes them available to users through a single database. The Observatory also frequently follows the evolution of European case law in relation to infringements of the same rights.

US Supreme Court: Georgia’s annotated code of law is not protected by copyright.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America, in a recent decision, ruled that annotations of a legislative code cannot be protected by copyright.
The case concerns the Annotated Code of the State of Georgia, which combines normative provisions with doctrinal comments, case law and legislative references. Well, anyone who wants access to such annotations must purchase a specific subscription.
The Supreme Court has therefore ruled that copyright cannot be applied to works created by judges and legislators in the exercise of their functions.
On the other hand, it would be worrying a scenario in which the public would have access only to the “economic” version of the law, whereas the full version, containing the interpretation of the above rules, would be available only to paying customers.