OSLO: Borgarting Court of Appeal rejected the appeal of the rights holders in the Telenor case.
/ 10/02/2010 / codexThe Court of Appeal has dismissed the copyright holders' appeal because there is no sufficient basis for the claim. The claim on which the petition for an injunction is based has no basis in Norwegian law. The court writes that “Telenor does not, within the meaning of the Copyright Act, contribute to actions that are punishable or subject to compensation among its end users by making its network available to the public without blocking The Pirate Bay.” (Ruling in case 10-006542ASK-BORG/04, p. 35).
Cato Strøm, director of TONO, says that the Court of Appeal's decision upholds the district court's ruling, which must be understood to mean that the EU Copyright Directive was not properly implemented into Norwegian law in 2005:
– In other words, the Court of Appeal's decision confirms what we have previously said, that copyright holders in Norway are virtually without rights in this area.
Marte Thorsby, director of IFPI, says in a comment:
– The Court of Appeal writes in its ruling that the limits of contributory liability are unclear and that the Ministry of Culture must clarify this when they are going to review the Copyright Act again. In other words, this is a “no man’s land” in the current law, and that means that it is free to facilitate illegal activity in Norwegian networks.
The court writes: “All sources do indeed keep the possibility of claims and temporary injunctions against technical intermediaries open, but say little about how far the liability for contributory acts goes. The Court of Appeal assumes that this is one of the reasons why the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs in Prop. 1 S (2009-2010) has announced a review of the Copyright Act, among other things with the aim of specifying contributory liability for illegal file sharing.” (Ruling in case 10-006542ASK-BORG/04, p. 32).
In June 2009, a joint film and music industry filed a petition for a temporary injunction against Telenor, demanding that Telenor block access to The Pirate Bay for its internet customers. The case was pending in the Asker and Bærum District Court in week 42. The District Court did not rule in favor of the copyright holders. The copyright holders appealed to the Borgarting Court of Appeal in December 2009.
The Pirate Bay is a download website that illegally makes copyrighted music and films available.
Cato Strøm, Director of TONO
Mobile: 92 21 63 19
Email: cato.strom@tono.no
Marte Thorsby, Director IFPI Norway
Mobile: 99 60 29 59
Email: marte.thorsby@ifpi.no
Rune Ljostad, lawyer at Simonsen Advokatfirma
Mobile: 91 12 11 80
Email: rl@simonsenlaw.no
Jan Richard Kjelstrup, Communications Manager at TONO
Mobile: 99 24 86 87
Email: jrk@tono.no