Link: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-03/cp210036en.pdf

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Court of Justice of the European Union

PRESS RELEASE No 36/21

Luxembourg, 9 March 2021

Judgment in Case C-392/19 VG Bild-Kunst v Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Where the copyright holder has adopted or imposed measures to restrict framing, the embedding of a work in a website page of a third party, by means of that technique, constitutes making available that work to a new public

That communication to the public must, consequently, be authorised by the copyright holder

Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (‘SPK’), a German foundation, is the operator of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek, a digital library devoted to culture and knowledge, which networks German cultural and scientific institutions. The website of that library contains links to digitised content stored on the internet portals of participating institutions. As a ‘digital showcase’, the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek itself stores only thumbnails, that is to say smaller versions of original images.