Date and time: 2025-12-09 at 15:00

After Mio/konektra: originality, infringement, and works of applied art in EU copyright law

In the joined referrals Mio, C-580/23 and konektra, C-795/23, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has been asked fundamental questions of copyright law, including: When is a work of applied art protected? How is originality to be assessed? What is the test to apply to determine infringement?

Following the Opinion of Advocate General Szpunar last spring, the CJEU will issue its judgment on 4 December.

Join us on Tuesday, 9 December, 15:00 – 16:30 CET for a panel discussion taking place online, which will unpack the ruling and explore its implications on a practical and theoretical level.

Hosted and organized by the Swedish Copyright Society, the webinar will feature the following as speakers (in alphabetical order):

• Wendela Hårdemark is a partner specialised in IP litigation and leads the IP Practice of Bird&Bird in Stockholm. With almost 20 years of experience, she provides strategic advice and represent clients in litigation involving patents, copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, and unfair marketing practices. Wendela works with innovative companies across life sciences, medtech, and creative industries, helping them navigate complex disputes and maximise the value of their intellectual property. Clients turn to her for pragmatic, results-driven guidance — whether enforcing rights, defending against infringement claims, or developing strategies to protect and commercialise intangible assets. Wendela currently serves as President of AIPPI Sweden, and remains active in SFIR and EPLAW.
  
• Harald Irgens-Jensen is Professor of Private Law at the University of Oslo. He has been working within the field of copyright law for 25 years, first in the law firmThommessen and, from 2014, at the University of Oslo. He is chairperson of the board of the Norwegian Copyright Society and has served as the Norwegian editor of the law journal NIR until this year.
  
• Eleonora Rosati is Professor of Intellectual Property Law at Stockholm University and Of Counsel at Bird & Bird, as well as member of the Swedish Copyright Society, Editor of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (Oxford University Press), and long-standing contributor to The IPKat. Eleonora is the author of several scholarly articles and books on IP issues, including – most recently – Copyright and the Court of Justice of the European Union (Oxford University Press, 2023, 2nd end) and Copyright in the Digital Single Market - Article-by-Article Commentary to the Provisions of Directive 2019/790 (Oxford University Press, 2021). She is also the editor of The Routledge Handbook of EU Copyright Law (Routledge, 2021) and co-editor of Developments and Directions in Intellectual Property Law. Twenty Years of The IPKat (Oxford University Press, 2023) and The Handbook of Fashion Law (Oxford University Press, 2025).
  
• João Miranda de Sousa is the partner in charge of the Garrigues offices in Portugal. He specializes in intellectual property law, and conducts his activity in both Spain and Portugal. He has more than 30 years' experience in this area, part of which has been gained from notable positions he has held at the European Union Intellectual Property Office. João is a leading lawyer, both in advising and defending businesses in industrial property, copyright and related rights and unfair competition disputes. He holds a degree in law from Universidade Católica Portuguesa, which has been officially recognized in Spain. He also holds an Executive MBA from ESADE International Business School (Madrid) and is a guest lecturer on the Magister Lvcentinvs at Universidade de Alicante. João has been recognized in his area of expertise by the main legal directories: Chambers & Partners (Eminent Practitioner in Spain and Portugal), World Trademark Review ("Gold" in Spain and Portugal).

Time: Tuesday, 9 December, 15:00 – 16:30 CET

Place: ZOOM - link to be sent

Free of charge

Date and time: 2024-10-21 at 16:00

European Copyright Legislation – Quo vadis?

Over 30 years have passed since the efforts to harmonise European copyright law began. However, the use of directives focusing on specific practical or legal issues, and especially the diverging national implementations, has resulted in a legal situation that is still fragmented. The Court of Justice of the European Union has not been able to remedy this situation entirely.

Has the time come for the next step? Should European copyright law be unified through a regulation? If that’s not feasible, should the Court's case law at least be codified?

Professor Eleonora Rosati, Stockholm University, who has argued that the time is right for unification, will discuss with Professor Ole Andreas Rognstad, Oslo University.

Time: Monday, 21 October 2024 at 4.00–5.00 pm CET.

Place: ZOOM

Free of charge

Date and time: 2024-02-07 at 16:30

As Advocate General Szpunar noted in the opening of his Opinion in Cofemel, “The legal protection of works of applied art is virtually as old as the legal protection of intellectual property in general. However, it still struggles to find its place within an intellectual property law system”.

Over the past several years, the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has progressively mandated a uniform treatment of copyright works, including works of applied art. Does that mean that originality is now the only requirement for protection? If so, how should it be assessed?

As the CJEU will also be required to answer these questions when deciding the fresh referrals for a preliminary ruling in Mio and USM Haller, join us to discuss all these issues, featuring lawyers who have litigated some of the most important CJEU copyright cases!

Speakers:

• Benoit Van Asbroeck, Partner, Bird & Bird
• Karin Cederlund, Partner, Sandart & Partners
• João Miranda de Sousa, Partner, Garrigues

Chair: Eleonora Rosati, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Stockholm University, and Of Counsel, Bird & Bird

Time: 7 February 2024, 16:30 – 18:00 CET
Place: Free webinar on Zoom.