Die Erschöpfung im digitalen Werkvertrieb über Cloud Computing

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Abstract The consumption of copyright protected works has already become a part of everyday life. Books and music can legally be downloaded and saved on several devices. Movies are mainly distributed via cloud computing and retrieved via streaming technologies. These new channels of distribution create numerous advantages for copyright owners and consumers. However, adapting the copyright law to these new technologies creates obstacles. A cornerstone of the copyright law - the principle of exhaustion of intellectual property rights - is statutorily only applicable to the distribution of material copies of a piece of work. However, the European Court of Justice has affirmed the exhaustion of copyright when software is downloaded. This work finds answers to the question of whether the principle of exhaustion of intellectual property rights can be transferred to the distribution of other forms of digital work, especially via cloud computing, in order to ensure a fair balance between the interests of copyright owners and consumers.