In its ruling on 17 July 2025, Germany's highest court has once again confirmed its view that cloud service providers are not obliged to pay copyright levies (BGH, Ref. I ZB 82/24). However, the court itself makes it clear that this is a purely formal interpretation of the law. This situation cannot remain as is. For providers, the situation is both unclear and uncertain. This is true in two respects: in comparison to other countries and in view of further developments already outlined in the ruling itself.

In this respect, the BGH ruling only provides clarity at first glance:

• The Federal Court of Justice had no choice but to interpret the law literally. The situation is different in other countries, with different consequences. For example, the Austrian Commercial Court in Vienna ruled last year against a German provider of cloud storage. The provider must disclose comprehensive information about the cloud services they have been offering in Austria since 1 October 2015. In Italy, levies on cloud storage capacities will soon be imposed along with levies on devices. Of course, other countries within and outside the EU are also considering cloud levies and will implement them. This is of immediate relevance to most, particularly all larger providers offering their services across borders.
  
  
• The highest German court seems to be aware of this. It does not question the principle: ‘authors are entitled to appropriate remuneration for reproductions made when using cloud storage.’ However, based on the wording of the law, it is not possible to ‘extend the remuneration obligation to private copies on cloud storage.’ There is a clear conflict here. The legislator must resolve this. In addition, the entire remuneration system should be revised. Devices such as smartphones and PCs are to be understood as access devices to the cloud. The ruling can be interpreted to mean that devices and cloud storage form a functional unit, which must then also be coordinated regarding the obligation to pay levies and the amount of the levies. Simply adding up the remuneration for individual components is not permissible. Ultimately, cloud storage could become subject to remuneration, while some device levies could be reduced or abolished altogether.

What does this mean for companies?

First, cloud storage providers need to familiarise themselves with the issue of remuneration for private copies, with which they have had little contact to date. Unless they also offer what the levy systems have been limited to so far: devices and storage media. In addition, there are significant differences between the levy systems globally. The levy rates vary, as do the methods for calculating these levies, their scope, the administrative requirements for fulfilling the obligations, and much more.

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