ISP-Liability & Media Law
Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.15.08
Other sections of this issue:
Privacy & Data Protection | ISP-Liability & Media Law | Contracts & E-Commerce |
Electronic Communications & IT
The online platform Wizzgo was recently condemned in France. Wizzgo provided a service allowing subscribers to obtain, via the internet, recordings of television programs broadcast inter alia by the French broadcasters M6, W9 and Télévision française. According to a Paris Court, Wizzgo’s service constitutes a copyright infringement and is not comparable with the functioning of a mere video recorder.
Introduction
Wizzgo is an online platform that allows subscribers to identify television programs that they wish to record. Once subscribers have made their selection, Wizzgo automatically makes a copy of the broadcast of the program (which it refers to as a mere "cache copy"), and then sends a watermarked and encrypted copy to the subscriber concerned (which it refers to as the "private copy"). Wizzgo was summoned by a number of French broadcasters that considered that Wizzgo violated their copyrights and, in subsidiary order, their trademark rights.
The decision
The Paris Court of First Instance rejected Wizzgo's argument that it only made a "cache copy" of the programs concerned (cache copies do not require the copyright holder's consent) and also held that the copy made by Wizzgo furthermore did not amount to a private copy made by an individual (private copies do not require the copyright holder's consent either).
Rather, the Court of First Instance has assimilated Wizzgo's activities to the provision of video-on-demand services and has therefore condemned Wizzgo to a compensation that was more or less equal to the income that the broadcasters would have generated had they applied their usual video-on-demand rates.
Wizzgo was also condemned for having infringed the trademarks of two of the broadcasters.
References: Judgment of the Paris Court of First Instance of 26 November 2008 [PDF]
For more information, contact: Christoph De Preter or Thomas De Meese.
Contacts
Insights
Client Alert | 2 min read | 03.27.26
CMS Releases PY 2020 RADV Audit Methods and Instructions: Key Takeaways for Health Plans
On March 20, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new guidance outlining the agency’s audit methods and instructions for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans subject to upcoming risk adjustment data validation (RADV) audits for payment year (PY) 2020. In addition to providing necessary context for MA plans selected for auditing, this resource clarifies CMS’s methodological and procedural expectations. While the high-level takeaways are recapped below for convenience, we strongly recommend that MA organizations selected for PY 2020 audits closely review the guidance to understand what may be involved — or required — during the agency’s review.
Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.25.26
NAIC Intensifies AI Regulatory Focus: What Health Insurance Payors Need to Know
Client Alert | 11 min read | 03.25.26
White House National AI Policy Framework Calls for Preempting State Laws, Protecting Children
Client Alert | 3 min read | 03.24.26
California Considering A Massive Expansion of Its Antitrust Laws
