International: The Right To Forget Metadata

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has enforced the European cyber law’s “right to be forgotten” against Google over search results linked to a minor crime committed by an individual ten years ago.  Last month, the ICO released an enforcement notice ordering the search engine to remove within 35 days nine links associated with the individual’s crime.  In some respects, the decision represents an expansion of the right as it involves removing links to articles about Google's removal of articles about the individual. 

If you need assistance on submitting a request to remove certain information about you from the search engines, then contact Gerrie van Gaalen

© Copyright 2015 Steptoe & Johnson LLP

International:Russia Enacts Right To Be Forgotten Law

Russia has enacted a law requiring search engines to remove website links containing inaccurate, outdated, or unlawfully released personal information.  Much like the European Court of Justice’s ruling in May 2014 establishing a “right to be forgotten” in the EU, Federal Law No. 264-FZ allows Russian citizens to request that search engines remove website links from search results if they contain information that is false, outdated, or violates Russian law.  However, the law does not apply to information about criminal offenses or to search engines operated by federal and municipal authorities.  Individuals may file lawsuits against the search engines if their requests are denied.  The law, which was signed by President Vladimir Putin on July 14, takes effect on January 1, 2016.

© Copyright 2015 Steptoe & Johnson LLP

European Court of Justice rules that internet browsing is not copyright infringement

The ECJ confirmed that the simple browsing of copyright material on a website will not infringe copyright and is the prior authorisation from the copyright owner not required, although reproduction takes place on the end user computer screen and in the internet cache of the computer's hard drive.

The Court ruled that on-screen and cached copies, made by an end-user in the course of viewing a website, satisfied the conditions in Article 5(1) of the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC) that those copies must be temporary, transient or incidental in nature, and must constitute an integral and essential part of a technological process, as well as various conditions laid down in Article 5(5) of the of the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC), and that they could therefore be made without the authorisation of the copyright holders.

Take note: browsing of copyright protected material is not the same as actually copying same and placing it somewhere else, whether for subsequent use or not.

The Court case: Public Relations Consultants Association v Newspaper Licensing Agency and others, Case C-360/13, 5 June 2014.