Unpacking The Right Of Communication To The Public

In the ever-evolving information age, the right of communication to the public has struggled for a predictable interpretation under EU copyright law. Through the successive rulings of the CJEU, a body of law is beginning to emerge to interpret the right. Some of the findings of the CJEU have brought an uncomfortable overlap of right of communication to the public with the pre-existing right of public performance. Certain other findings such as the need for an active intervention by the user, the concept of "new public" and the need for an economic gain resulting from the communication have identified elements of the right not obvious from a plain reading of the provisions, although these findings have not been consistently applied. The purpose of this article is to unpack all these findings, and take a critical look at whether such findings are in tune with the jurisprudential basis of the right, and assess their impact on the national laws.