The proposed Norwegian implementation of Articles 15 and 17 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market

By Torger Kielland[*]Professor, PhD, Faculty of law, University of Bergen.

1. Introduction

Norway has not yet implemented the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSM), although significant progress has been made in this regard.[1]Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market. By Decision No 333/2023 of 8 December 2003, the EEA Committee decided to incorporate the Directive into the EEA Agreement. However, work on the implementation of the Directive had already commenced at that juncture. In the autumn of 2016, the Ministry of Culture conducted a preliminary consultation on the proposed Directive with relevant stakeholders. Following the adoption of the Directive in 2019, the Ministry conducted a second consultation on the Directive in spring 2021. In November 2023, the Ministry sent a consultation paper with a proposal for implementation in the Copyright Act for general consultation.[2]Høringsnotat – Forslag til endringer i åndsverkloven mv. – gjennomføring av digitalmarkedsdirektivet (EU) 2019/790 og nett- og videresendingsdirektivet (EU) 2019/789 of 22 November 2023, available at https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/horing-om-endringer-i-andsverkloven-digitalmarkedsdirektivet-m.v/id3013710/?expand=horingsnotater (accessed on 2 April 2025). Based on the consultation, a final proposal is expected to submitted to the Norwegian Parliament before summer 2025. If the legislative process goes as expected, the amendments are likely to come into force in July 2026.

In general, the proposed Norwegian implementation of the CDSM Directive is quite close to the text of the Directive, not only with respect to Articles 15 and 17, but also the implementation of the Directive as a whole. This “implementation by translation” makes little attempt to use the leeway provided by the Directive, at least in the provisions themselves. In many cases, the proposal simply states that specific issues must be decided on a case-by-case basis and that they ultimately will be decided by the CJEU.[3]The first cases concerning Articles 15 and 17 have already been referred to the CJEU, see Referral C-663/24 (Streamz and Others) and Referral C-797/23 (Meta). In several cases, the Ministry emphasises that it would be unfortunate if the Norwegian implementation went too far in defining the content of the requirements, thereby risking an implementation that deviates from legal developments in the EU.