On September 13, 2018, the German Federal Court of Justice referred a case over whether YouTube can be held as liable for hosting copyright-infringing videos to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
In 2015, a lower German court ruled that YouTube had a duty to ensure that rights violations were stopped upon notice, but did not order the platform to pay any financial compensation. In its referral, the German Federal Court of Justice asked whether a platform making user-uploaded copyright-infringing content available constitutes a “communication to the public” as defined under EU regulations.
In June 2018, the Commercial Court in Vienna, Austria, had issued a preliminary ruling, holding that YouTube can be liable for hosting copyright-infringing videos, even if the platform maintains a process for copyright holders to issue takedown notices.