Eyeo wins German copyright decision, sets legal precedent for who ‘owns’ HTML

# · 🔥 393 · 💬 261 · 2 years ago · eyeo.com · rmoriz · 📷
Hamburg, Germany - January 18, 2022 - eyeo, developer of best-in-class ad-filtering technology found in millions of browsers and products around the world, today announced that it has successfully defended and won a landmark court decision involving whether HTML can be subject to copyright enforcement. Resolving this copyright case upholds the open standards mission of the World Wide Web Consortium and sets an important legal precedent and defines who 'owns' the code underlying websites and how popular browser features and utilities can continue to operate lawfully on the public Internet. Facts of the 2021 Hamburg copyright case:The 2021 copyright lawsuit was brought against eyeo by Axel Springer, a large conglomerate based in Germany, and it sought to dictate that the HTML language used to render a website page should be protected under copyright law - effectively making it illegal for any technology or any consumer to alter a website page appearance. This 2021 copyright lawsuit filed in Hamburg was a new challenge to a 2018 Federal Court case, also brought against eyeo by Axel Springer, which was previously decided in favor of eyeo. Legal precedent:Resolving this copyright case was an important legal precedent for defining once and for all who 'owns' Internet code and what rights the Internet community has to continue to develop new browser features and extensions that improve user experience. In a worst case scenario, had the copyright claim been declared legal and enforceable, any ordinary computer user who uses browser extensions or features that modify HTML would be automatically deemed as infringing on copyright law and subjected to a cease and desist letter. Since 1996, the HTML specifications have been maintained by the international community of the W3C. Expert comments:"This legal argument simply went too far. HTML is a widely adopted open standard that underpins most websites, and shifting the burden of permission to users and developers is clearly unreasonable. We are pleased that the Court agrees, and we feel honored and privileged to be able to take up this legal fight on behalf of the interests of all Internet participants everywhere. This decision also preempts needless court battles elsewhere," said Kai Recke, General Counsel for eyeo.
Eyeo wins German copyright decision, sets legal precedent for who ‘owns’ HTML



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