22.2.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 52/10

(Case C-202/12) (<span class="super">1</span>)

(Directive 96/9/EC - Legal protection of databases - Article 7(1) and (5) - Sui generis right of the database maker - Concept of ‘re-utilisation’ - Substantial part of the contents of the database - Dedicated meta search engine)

2014/C 52/14

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Gerechtshof Den Haag, formerly Gerechtshof te ‘s Gravenhage

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Innoweb BV

Defendants: Wegener ICT Media BV, Wegener Mediaventions BV

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Gerechtshof te s’-Gravenhage — Netherlands — Interpretation of Article 7(1) and (5) of Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases (OJ 1996, L 77, p. 20) — Right of the database maker to prohibit the extraction and/or repeated re-utilisation of a substantial part of the contents of a database — Prohibition of the repeated and systematic re-utilisation of non-substantial parts of the contents of a database implying acts that conflict with normal exploitation of that database or unreasonably prejudicing the interests of the maker of the database — Sufficiency of repeated re-utilisation or cumulative condition of systematic re-utilisation — Re-utilisation through an automated system.

Operative part of the judgment

Article 7(1) of Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases must be interpreted as meaning that an operator who makes available on the Internet a dedicated meta search engine such as that at issue in the main proceedings re-utilises the whole or a substantial part of the contents of a database protected under Article 7, where that dedicated meta engine:

provides the end user with a search form which essentially offers the same range of functionality as the search form on the database site;

‘translates’ queries from end users into the search engine for the database site ‘in real time’, so that all the information on that database is searched through; and

presents the results to the end user using the format of its website, grouping duplications together into a single block item but in an order that reflects criteria comparable to those used by the search engine of the database site concerned for presenting results.

(<span class="super">1</span>) OJ C 243, 11.8.2012.