Use for public security purposes (Art. 5.3(e) InfoSoc)

This (optional) exception or limitation allows reproduction, communication to the public or making available to the public of works or other subject matter (other than databases and software), for the purposes of public security or to ensure the proper performance or reporting of administrative, parliamentary or judicial proceedings.

Although the provision itself does not explicitly restrict the scope of beneficiaries, the EU Court of Justice interprets it in Painer (Case C-145/10) as meaning that free use may be exercised solely by a competent public authority and, in certain cases, by a third party only in coordination with competent national authorities.

This exception has been implemented in the following Member States: