The Balancing Impact of General EU Law on European Intellectual Property Jurisprudence

Abstract

The authors give an overview over the relationship between general EU law and intellectual property law, in particular copyright law. They note that a first phase of development was characterised by a conflict between the fundamental freedoms and intellectual property. In a second phase, the CJEU started interpreting IP directives. Since 2009, the CJEU has taken a pro-active role, for example by creating a European concept of copyrightable works. The authors analyse the impact of the fundamental freedoms, of the principle of non-discrimination, of competition law and of constitutional law on intellectual property. They note with approval that the CJEU is increasingly called upon to balance intellectual property against competing values which are also protected under EU law.