The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that, in certain circumstances, the act of posting a hyperlink to copyrighted works without the author’s consent may constitute copyright infringement. The crucial test may be the degree of knowledge of the infringing nature of the linked material: and the court ruled that such knowledge would be presumed if the link-poster stands to make a financial gain from posting the links.

For right-holders, this decision will be welcomed as it opens a new door to effective enforcement in Europe against potential infringement. For everyone else, it raises a practical headache when posting hyperlinks to online material. Ultimately, the case demonstrates once again the challenge that the courts have in trying to balance the rights of copyright holders with the functionality of the Internet.