Litigation- Denmark In IFPI Danmark v Tele2 (F1-15124/2006) the Bailiff's Court of Copenhagen has ordered that Tele2, a Danish internet service provider, must block its users from accessing an illegal Russian MP3 music service.
The case concerned a dispute between the Danish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and Tele2. According to IFPI Denmark, Tele2 infringed the copyrights of its members by allowing its users to access and download music from Russian website www.allofmp3.com.
The website, which is owned by Russian company Media Services, publishes international hit lists containing direct links to music files, which can then be downloaded from the website for payment. According to the Russian branch of IFPI, Media Services does not have permission to publicize and copy musical works over the Internet, even though it states otherwise on its website.
Tele2 argued that since the music files were stored in its router for only a very short time (ie, less than one millisecond) when the music files were sent over the Internet from the server to the user's home computer, the temporary storing of the files did not constitute a reproduction as such. Further, Tele2 argued that an injunction ordering it to prevent its users from accessing the website would not be proportional as other measures were available to IFPI Denmark, such as taking legal action directly against the owner of allofmp3.com.
The court found that it had been rendered probable that the Russian company Media Services did not have permission to make protected works available to the public over the Internet. Although the music files were stored in the Tele2 network for only a short period of time, this temporary reproduction of the music files should be considered as 'copying' as set out in Section 2 of the Danish Copyright Act. Therefore, Tele2's provision of access for its users to the Russian website constituted an infringement of the copyrights of IFPI Denmark. Further, the court noted that an injunction against Tele2 would not be a disproportionate measure because the infringement would otherwise continue for some time. Therefore, the court ordered that Tele2 must prevent its users from accessing allofmp3.com. Tele2 has subsequently decided not to appeal the decision to the High Court. Since the decision was issued, the Russian government has agreed to shut down allofmp3.com following pressure from the Office of the US Trade Representative.
This decision shows that rights holders do not necessarily have to take legal steps directly against a website that distributes music illegally in order to stop infringement. Instead, they can pursue the matter against the ISP, which will often be the easier course of action if the owner of the website is situated in another country.
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