The Hague leads the way in IP rights decisions

Copyright due for MP3 players and DVD hard-disk recorders
On 27th March 2012 the Appeal Court of The Hague held that the Dutch government must guarantee the right of copyright owners to receive proper compensation for the private use of copyrighted material. The decision comes after the Justice Department decided to maintain an exception for MP3 and DVD hard-disk recorders. The government has also been ordered to pay damages incurred by copyright owners over the years by not receiving proper renumeration.

Apple v Samsung: the continuing story
Short after the Appeal Court of The Hague ruled on 24th January 2012 that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 did not infringe the Community design rights of Apple for its iPad series, a new Dutch chapter was added in the continuing story with a decision in a patent case litigated before the first instance court of The Hague. On 14th March 2012 Samsung’s claims that certain Apple products infringed its patent in the UMTS/3G technology were dismissed based on the exhaustion of rights with respect to patented technology used in Apple’s iPhone 4S product and based on “pre-contractual good faith” on Apple's side with respect to 3G technology used in other Apple products.

Blocking The Pirate Bay
On 11th January 2012 the first instance court of The Hague ordered internet service providers Ziggo and XS4ALL to block access to the website The Pirate Bay for their subscribers.