Just a few months away from the expiry of the deadline for the transposition by member states of the new EU copyright directive, there is already the first judicial pronouncement on the legality or otherwise of the contentious article 17. Article 17 of the new EU directive on copyright and related rights in the digital single market is indeed compatible with the freedom of expression and information guaranteed by the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, Advocate General Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe has opined. This opinion comes in the course of proceedings filed by Poland before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for the annulment of parts of article 17 of this new directive right after the directive’s adoption in May 2019. Poland’s main point of contention revolves around whether the said article 17 is compatible or otherwise with the freedom of expression and information guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. Article 17 establishes the principle that, as a rule, providers of online sharing services are directly liable when protected subject matter is illegally uploaded by users of their services. They are hence obliged to actively monitor the...