Article 17 of the EU Copyright Directive changes fundamental points of law applicable to “Online Content Sharing Service Providers” (OCSSPs). It is drafted broadly, and – to understate matters – is unclear as to how it is supposed to work in practice.

The Commission has been due to issue guidance on some of the most important factors at play for a long time, which should help with those open (or impossible) questions. The guidance has still not been published. Given that article 17 contemplates new systems and approaches that have to be adopted by platforms, timing is now critical to understand what the Commission believes what the practical meaning and implications of the Directive should be. Strictly focussing on law and procedure, let’s break it down in terms of numbers.