Background information

A German website posted a hyperlink to image on another website. That image was available under a CC license, but the website where the image was posted had not complied with the CC license terms and was therefore in violation of the copyright. The photographer who had taken the image filed a lawsuit requesting that the German website take down the link.

Case summary

In 2016, the court granted an injunction requiring that the link be removed from the German website. This case was an interpretation of an earlier European Court of Justice ruling that held that a website could be held liable for copyright infringement when it posted links to infringing material intending to make a profit. The court in this case broadly interpreted what it means for a link to be posted "for profit," stating that the determination is made based on whether the website is intended to make money.