Order of the Court of 21 October 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof) — BestWater International GmbH v Michael Mebes, Stefan Potsch
(Case C-348/13) 1
(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Approximation of laws — Copyright and related rights — Directive 2001/29/EC — Information society — Harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights — Article 3(1) — Communication to the public — Definition — Internet links giving access to protected works — Use of the ‘framing’ technique)
Language of the case: German
Referring court
Bundesgerichtshof
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: BestWater International GmbH
Defendant: Michael Mebes, Stefan Potsch
Operative part of the order
The mere fact that a protected work, freely available on an internet site, is inserted into another internet site by means of a link using the ‘framing’ technique, such as that used in the case in the main proceedings, cannot classified as ‘communication to the public’ within the meaning of Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society since the work at issue is not transmitted to a new public or communicated a specific technical method different from that of the original communication.
____________1 OJ C 325, 9.11.2013.