2021 is a momentous year for EU copyright law: it is the 30th anniversary since the adoption of the first ever copyright directive (the Software Directive 1991/250) and the 20th since the passing of the seminal InfoSoc Directive 2001/29. By 7 June this year, individual Member States should have also completed their own national processes for the transposition of the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790.

Besides legislative action, what copyright law is today at both the EU and national levels owes significantly to the case law developed over time by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In several and notable instances, the Court has added flesh to the structure of thin legislative provisions, addressed technological advancement, and contributed substantially to the establishment of a Single Market for copyright content and copyright-based services.

To celebrate the publication of Eleonora Rosati’s Copyright in the Digital Single Market. Article-by-Article Commentary to the Provisions of Directive 2019/790 (Oxford University Press), the Institute for Intellectual Property and Market Law (IFIM) at Stockholm University is delighted to host an online conference devoted to discussing The Making of EU Copyright.

With a stellar cast of speakers, the discussion will develop into three main directions: the role and legacy of CJEU case law for EU and national copyright systems, the rationale and effects of EU harmonization, and the impact that the rules contained in the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 will be having on EU and national laws and practice.

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Speakers (in alphabetical order)

• Richard Arnold, Lord Justice of Appeal, Court of Appeal of England and Wales
• Marco Giorello, Head of the Copyright Unit (CNECT.I.2), European Commission
• Marko Ilešič, Judge, Court of Justice of the European Union
• Eleonora Rosati, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Stockholm University
• Catherine Stihler, Chief Executive Officer, Creative Commons
• Maciej Szpunar, First Advocate General, Court of Justice of the European Union

Chair

• Jan Rosén, Professor of Private Law, Stockholm University

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Programme

- Welcome (Jonas Nordell, Professor of Private Law, Stockholm University, and Chair of the IFIM Board)

- Introduction (Jan Rosén)

- The role, action, and legacy of CJEU copyright case law

• Advising the Court (Maciej Szpunar)
• Reaching a decision (Marko Ilešič)
• The perspective of a national judge (Richard Arnold)
• Q&As

- Copyright harmonization: from policy to law and practice

• Copyright policy at the European Commission (Marco Giorello)
• Shaping the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 (Catherine Stihler)
• The place and effects of the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 (Eleonora Rosati)
• Q&As and conclusion