Telenor is not obliged to block The Pirate Bay

A Norwegian District Court delivered its decision 6 November 2009 in the so-called Pirate Bay case, concluding that there are no grounds for ordering Telenor to block The Pirate Bay.  

In June 2009 the music and film industry filed a petition for preliminary injunction requiring Telenor to block its customers’ access to The Pirate Bay. Wiersholm, by John S. Gulbrandsen and Rune Opdahl, represents Telenor in this important case.

The District Court delivered its decision 6 November in the favor of Telenor. The court concluded that Telenor does not unlawfully contribute to copyright infringements which takes place by its customers’ use of The Pirate Bay. Hence, the court held that that there is no legal basis for imposing Telenor to block access to the website.

Telenor has repeatedly emphasized that it does not support infringements that take place by use of The Pirate Bay. On the contrary, Telenor co-operates closely with rights holders by establishing solutions for legal download and streaming of content. The case did not concern the question of whether or not the customers of Telenor infringe copyright by using The Pirate Bay, but whether or not Telenor by granting access to The Pirate Bay commits an illegal act. 

The latter question was concluded with a clear ”no”. Telenor is not obliged to block its customers’ access to The Pirate Bay (nor other websites). In its assessment the court emphasized the unfortunate consequences of imposing blocking obligations on internet service providers.

The decision is not yet legally in force. The music and film industry considers appealing the decision. 

For more information, please contact John S. Gulbrandsen.

Click here to read the decision.