Websites can link to freely available content without the permission of the copyright holder, the European Court of Justice says.
[…] In a statement it [the court] said: « The owner of a website may, without the authorisation of the copyright holders, redirect internet users, via hyperlinks, to protected works available on a freely accessible basis on another site. »
But they ruled that the « position would be different » if a link led users to material that had purposely been restricted from being freely available – for example if it had been posted on a site that operates a paywall.
« If the decision had gone the other way it would have broken the internet, » said Susan Hall, technology lawyer at Clarke Willmott.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26187730