Austria: Austrian Supreme Court finds Youtube not responsible for users' copyright infringment in Puls 4 - Youtube case

On 31 May 2022, the Austrian Supreme Court of Justice ruled that Youtube cannot be held liable for infringing videos uploaded by users, as long as it is not aware of its infringements. In the present case, the Austrian television channel Puls 4 filed a complaint against Youtube, aiming for Youtube to be held liable for copyright infringement by users who uploaded Puls 4 material without authorisation. YouTube, on the other hand, relied on the host service provider's liability privilege and the required agreement of the uploading users who must accept copyright rules including the obligation to own the copyright or use rights to the videos in order to monetise them. A preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice previously confirmed that YouTube does not have to examine every video for copyright infringement automatically. The case predates the European Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market.