Erasmus University loses court case against StudeerSnel, costing 32,000 euros

Study material website StudeerSnel is not required to take additional measures to prevent copyright infringement, according to a ruling by the court in a case brought by Erasmus University.

According to the terms of StudeerSnel, a platform for sharing study materials, users are not allowed to upload copyrighted material. If such material does appear on the site, the company removes the document within 24 hours of it being reported. ‘Frequent offenders’ are suspended from the platform after five violations.

However, Erasmus University claimed that the site contained manuals, exercises, and presentation slides that were the university’s property. The university argued that the process of reporting infringements is too labour-intensive. The court ruled that StudeerSnel cannot be required to simplify this process; the company’s existing measures comply with European regulations. The additional filtering measures demanded by the university were deemed excessive by the judge.

Automatic processes

The lawyer representing Erasmus University also argued that StudeerSnel does not play a neutral role in the distribution of protected material, as the website indexes and recommends the documents to users. Additionally, the site adds a cover page with the StudeerSnel logo.

The judge did not accept this reasoning, stating that the indexing and logo addition are fully automated processes. A site can only be held accountable if it actively, deliberately, and with full knowledge of the consequences, provides access to protected works.

Legal costs

The court concluded that StudeerSnel does not infringe on Erasmus University’s copyright and did not act unlawfully. The university has been ordered to pay the company 31,500 euros to cover legal costs.

The Delft-based StudeerSnel is popular among EUR students, who use the site to share lecture slides, summaries, and practice exams. Following this lawsuit, student union STUUR launched a petition to keep StudeerSnel available.