In its decision in Aleksandrs Ranks & Jurijs Vasilevics v Microsoft Corp (Case C-166/15) the European Court of Justice (the ‘CJEU’) has ruled that Article 4(2) and Articles 5(1) and (2) of Directive 2009/24/EC (the ‘Software Directive’) should be interpreted to mean that back-up copies of software cannot be sold without the right-holder’s permission, even where the original copy of that software has been damaged, destroyed or lost. By its narrow interpretation of the right to create a backup copy, the CJEU has provided software owners with a broader level of protection.
Right-holder’s permission needed to resell back-up copies of software even where original damaged, destroyed or lost