Germany, Leistungsschutzrecht fur Presseverleger (sections 87f-87h Urheberrechtsgesetz)

This German ancillary copyright law (not an EU instrument) gave publishers of newspapers and magazines the exclusive right to make a newspaper or magazine, or parts of it, available to the public for commercial purposes, unless it consisted of individual words or very short text excerpts. The right expired one year after publication of the newspaper or magazine.

Making a newspaper or magazine, or parts of it, available to the public was permitted unless done by commercial operators of search engines or commercial operators of services that similarly publish content.

In Case C-299/17 (2019), the Court of Justice held that a provision of this kind, which prohibits only commercial operators of search engines and commercial service providers that similarly publish content from making newspapers or magazines or parts thereof (excluding individual words and very short text excerpts) available to the public, is a technical regulation whose draft is subject to prior notification to the Commission under Article 8(1) of Directive 98/34/EC.

The Court recalled that the inapplicability of a technical regulation that has not been notified in accordance with that provision may be relied upon in proceedings between individuals. In 2021 Germany set out Part 2, Section 7 of the Act (sections 87f to 87k) afresh in its transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/790. The replacement took effect on 7 June 2021.