Brigitte Lindner

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Brigitte Lindner has worked in copyright for over 35 years. She specialises in international, European and comparative copyright and related rights law and assists legal professionals around the world, including in-house lawyers in the creative industries, collective management organisations and trade associations, in cross-border copyright matters. Brigitte also accepts appointments as arbitrator and expert in international copyright disputes.

Dual-qualified in England and Wales and in Germany, Brigitte has extensive practical experience in both civil and common law traditions which she gathered in private practice in France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK as well as in her former role as Legal Adviser to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in London. She is conversant with the law-making process at both international and EU levels and experienced in legislative drafting. Her working languages are English, French and German.

A passionate advocate of education and learning, Brigitte also provides tailor-made training and capacity-building in the field of copyright and related rights. She has contributed to technical assistance projects organised by various bodies, including the UN and the EU, as well as through ADALPI, a Geneva-based association which she co-founded with like-minded professionals in 2010.

Brigitte is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars and the author of various contributions to legal treatises and commentaries on copyright, as well as joint editor of ‘Copyright in the Information Society: A Guide to National Implementation of the European Directive’. She is a Vice-Chair of the British Literary and Artistic Copyright Association (BLACA) and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale (ALAI).

Areas of Expertise

Intellectual Property

Most of Brigitte’s work in the area of intellectual property is advisory with a focus on copyright and the related rights of performers, music and film producers, broadcasters and publishers. Brigitte provides guidance on copyright policy, contracts and litigation strategies in cross-border situations to in-house legal teams and other legal professionals, prepares legal opinions on specific copyright and related rights aspects and compiles larger studies and reports on specific copyright and related rights issues based on a comparative law approach.

Recent Activities

Advice on practical legal issues arising out of the application of international copyright and related rights treaties in different jurisdictions.
Specialist policy advice on implementation issues of international treaties, notably the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, in a variety of jurisdictions.
Advice on EU copyright law, including assessment of the practical implications of case law of the European Court of Justice for various creative industries.
Comparative law studies on specific copyright issues in the area of collective rights management, limitations and exceptions to copyright in a cross-border context, or on the liability of various online service providers.
Advice on the term of protection of various iconic older films and literary works in a cross-border context.
Advice on specific moral rights aspects in cross-border film exploitation.
Expert opinion in a court case on the interpretation of the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
Copyright advice in the context of the creation of new business models, such as an internet radio or on demand services.
Co-arbitrator in a complex international related rights case.

Human Rights

Brigitte’s advisory work in the area of copyright and related rights extends to relevant aspects of human rights. For example, she has advised on human rights aspects in the area of copyright enforcement and collective rights management. She also opined on the implications of copyright as a human right for copyright reform in the European Union and some of its Member States.

Brigitte received specialist training in international human rights law and practice from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is currently working on a systematic review of copyright and related rights in the European human rights system as part of a larger commentary on EU copyright law for publication in 2027.

Private International Law

Cross-border copyright matters often touch on private international law. Brigitte regularly advises on such aspects, both in the area of contracts and enforcement. For example, Brigitte has opined on the effect of the legal framework for copyright contracts introduced by the 2019 EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market outside the EU. She has also addressed conflicts of law issues in arbitration as well as in the context of cross-border portability and geo-blocking legislation.

: Email Brigitte
: +44 (0)20 7242 6105
: Contact Practice Managers
: vCard
: Download CV
: Shortlist

For general enquiries and instruction advice, please contact our Practice Management Team:

Call: +44 (0)20 7242 6105
or email: clerks@serlecourt.co.uk

Appointments

Call to the Bar of England & Wales as a transferring Registered European Lawyer (2021)
Registration as “Registered European Lawyer”, Bar Council of England and Wales and Member of Lincoln’s Inn (2004)
Readmission, Berlin: Member of Berlin Bar Association (Rechtsanwaltskammer Berlin) (2000)
Admission to the German Bar as “Rechtsanwältin”, Frankfurt / Main (1988) (Non-practising (Inhouse Lawyer) (1992-1999)

Publications

Books / Book Chapters

Lindner, B., ‘Moral rights and alternative dispute resolution’, in Gendreau, Y. (Ed), Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Moral Rights, (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023) 339-354
Lindner, B./Shapiro, T. (Eds), Copyright in the Information Society: A Guide to National Implementation of the European Directive (Edward Elgar, 2nd edition, 2019).
Lindner, B., ‘European Union, Part A. Copyright and Contract Law Issues’, in Lavizzari, C.S. and Viljoen, R. (Eds), Cross-Border Copyright Licensing, Law and Practice (Edward Elgar, 2018), 51, 55-95.
Lindner, B., ‘The role of collective administration in new business models in the audiovisual sector’ published in von Lewinski, S. (Ed.), Remuneration for the use of works, Exclusivity vs other approaches (De Gruyter, 2017), 419-424.
Lindner, B./Shapiro,T. (Eds), Copyright in the Information Society: A Guide to National Implementation of the European Directive (Edward Elgar, 2011).
Gaubiac, Y./Lindner, B./Adams, J., ‘Duration of copyright’, in Derclaye, E. (Ed), Research Handbook on the Future of EU Copyright (Edward Elgar, 2009) 148, 159-174.
Lindner, B., ‘Alternative dispute resolution – a remedy for soothing tensions between technological measures and exceptions’, in Torremans, P. (Ed), Copyright Law, A Handbook of Contemporary Research (Edward Elgar, 2007) 426-448.

Articles

Breaking down national silos: Farewell to Geo-blocking in Europe?, Intellectual Property Magazine 2015 (June), 19-20.
More football in pubs – European Union – Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) Football Association Premier League Ltd and Others v QC Leisure and Others (C-403/08) and Karen Murphy v Media Protection Services Ltd (C-429/08), [2013] Q.M.J.I.P. Vol. 3 No. 1, 43-53 (co-authored with Ted Shapiro).
European Copyright Law, A Commentary, Edited by Michel M. Walter and Silke von Lewinski, Book Review, [2011] I.P.Q. 108-110.
Copyright Demolished? The Implementation of the WIPO Treaties in Switzerland, European Intellectual Property Review [2008] E.I.P.R. 328-331.
Demolishing Copyright: The Implementation of the WIPO Treaties in Switzerland, European Intellectual Property Review [2005] E.I.P.R. 481-488.
Cross-border Copyright Protection before the Berne Convention: A brief account of Music Publishing Practices in the Early 19th Century, published in Autoriu Teises I Literaturos, Mokslo Ir Meno Kurinius, Vilnius 2004, 17- 26.
Revival of Rights v Protection of Acquired Rights – The Interpretation of Article 10(3) of the Duration Directive by the European Court of Justice in the Butterfly Case, European Intellectual Property Review [2000] E.I.P.R. 133- 136.
Switzerland: The Cradle of International Exhaustion?, European Intellectual Property Review [1999] E.I.P.R. 373- 377.
News on the Internet: Legal Implications of Union Syndicale des Journalistes Français, CFDT v Sté Plurimédia, European Intellectual Property Review [1998] E.I.P.R. 410-413.

Online Publications

Advocate General’s opinion – private copying in the cloud – Case analysis for Lexis®PSL re Austro-Mechana Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung mechanisch-musikalischer Urheberrechte Gesellschaft mbH v Strato AG, Case C-433/10, ECLI:EU:C:2021:763 (23 September 2021), published in Lexis®PSL on 4 October 2021, accessible here.
YouTube devant la Cour de justice européenne (Affaires C-264/19 – Constantin Film Verleih et C-682/18 – Frank Peterson), Case analysis published on 18 February 2021 on La Grande Bibliothèque de Droit, Barreau de Paris, available here.

Memberships

British Literary & Artistic Copyright Association (BLACA), London – Vice-Chair
Association Internationale pour le Développement de la Propriété Intellectuelle (ADALPI), Geneva – Chair

Education & Qualifications

Certificate in International Human Rights Law & Practice, London School of Economics and Political Science (2013)
Second State Examination in Law (Stuttgart) (1988)
First State Examination in Law (Würzburg) (1985)
Studies in Musicology, University of Heidelberg (1985-1988)
Studies in Law, University of Würzburg (1979-1984)

Languages

French
German

BSB Registration