Putting Right Holders In The Centre: Bolagsupplysningen And Ilsjan ...

Putting Right Holders in the Centre: Bolagsupplysningen and Ilsjan (C-194/16) - What Does it Mean for International Jurisdiction Over Transborder Intellectual Property Infringement Disputes?

IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, November 2018, Volume 49, Issue 9, pp 1022–1047

Faculty of Law, Stockholm University Research Paper No. 59

Posted: 13 Aug 2018

See all articles by Lydia Lundstedt

Lydia Lundstedt

Stockholm University - Faculty of Law

Date Written: July 23, 2018

Abstract

This paper analyses what the decision in Bolagsupplysningen and Ilsjan (C-194/16) means for transborder intellectual property infringement disputes. In this case, the Court of Justice of the European Union extended “the centre of interests” basis of jurisdiction under Art. 7(2) of EU Regulation No 1215/2012 to legal persons claiming infringements of personality rights on the internet. The Court also held that actions for rectification and removal of content infringing personality rights may not be brought before the courts of a Member State where the content is accessible. This article concludes that the centre of interests basis of jurisdiction is generally not applicable to right holders claiming infringements of intellectual property rights and/or complementary tort claims, except arguably for claims for the infringement of moral rights and unfair competition claims where the act exclusively affects the interests of a specific competitor. Many questions remain with respect to the localisation of a victim’s centre of interests. In addition, the article concludes that the judgment in Bolagsupplysningen does not affect a right holder’s ability to obtain an injunction in the Member State in which content accessible on the internet infringes a forum IP right. Still, the centre of interests basis of jurisdiction has the potential to give right holders an advantage for claims of on-line infringements of moral rights and acts of unfair competition that exclusively affect them and it can be expected that authors and traders will take advantage of this opportunity when considering their IP litigation strategies.

Keywords: International jurisdiction, Brussels Ia Regulation, Applicable law, Intellectual property, Moral rights, Personality rights, Unfair competition  

JEL Classification: K1, K10, K13, K4, K40, K41

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Lundstedt, Lydia, Putting Right Holders in the Centre: Bolagsupplysningen and Ilsjan (C-194/16) - What Does it Mean for International Jurisdiction Over Transborder Intellectual Property Infringement Disputes? (July 23, 2018). IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, November 2018, Volume 49, Issue 9, pp 1022–1047 , Faculty of Law, Stockholm University Research Paper No. 59, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3227931 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3227931

Lydia Lundstedt (Contact Author)

Stockholm University - Faculty of Law ( email )

S-106 91 StockholmSweden