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Hugenholtz, P. Bernt --- "Copyright Without Frontiers: The Problem of Territoriality in European Copyright Law" [2009] ELECD 160; in Derclaye, Estelle (ed), "Research Handbook on the Future of EU Copyright" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: Research Handbook on the Future of EU Copyright

Editor(s): Derclaye, Estelle

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847203922

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: Copyright Without Frontiers: The Problem of Territoriality in European Copyright Law

Author(s): Hugenholtz, P. Bernt

Number of pages: 15

Extract:

Introduction
Estelle Derclaye



Several things prompted the idea for this book in Autumn 2006. First, it was
15 years since the EU had started harmonising copyright law. If we include the
Community courts case law, harmonisation ­ albeit indirect ­ dates back to
1971 with Deutsche Grammophon1 the first decision in the field of copyright
which, in a groundbreaking way not only decided that copyright was within
the competence of the Community but also that in the context of the free
movement of goods and services, an end should be put to protectionism by
creating the concept of European exhaustion. Second, the Commission's
harmonisation plans in the field of copyright had recently come to a standstill,
as no proposal had been launched since the Resale Right Directive or the
Horizontal Enforcement Directive.2 Third, I was also aware of the Wittem
project, which gathers a group of renowned copyright academics who review
all areas of copyright law with the aim of drafting a European copyright code.3
In the light of this initiative and with the ­ admittedly ambitious ­ aim of influ-
encing European copyright policy, I wanted the book not only to take stock but


1 Deutsche Grammophon v. Metro, ECJ, 8 June 1971, Case 78/70, ECR [1971]
487.
2 Writing in 2006, T. Dreier and P. B. Hugenholtz, Concise European Copyright
Law, Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer, 2006, p. 2 noted that currently the Commission does
not see `any problems with regard to the internal market' and does not ` ...