On 25 January 2017 the important verdict was issued by the Court of Justice EU (C 367/15). The request for a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of Article 13 of Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights was submitted by the Polish Supreme Court.
The CJEU underlined that the EU law lays down a minimum standards concerning the enforcement of intellectual property rights and does not prevent the Member States from laying down measures that are more protective. The CJEU confirmed that the holder of an intellectual property right that has been infringed may demand from the person who has infringed that right either compensation for the damage that he has suffered, or, without having to prove the actual loss, payment of a sum corresponding to twice the appropriate fee which would have been due if permission had been given for the work concerned to be used.
The CJEU drew the attention to the main characteristics of any lump-sum compensation (twice the amount of the royalty fee). The CJEU underlined that compensation calculated on the basis of twice the amount of the hypothetical royalty is not precisely proportional to the loss actually suffered by the injured party does not have any meaning. That characteristic is inherent in any lump-sum compensation – the CJEU said.
The judgement is another example of the beneficial for the right holders interpretation of law made by the CJEU.
