Court issues dismissal in case against infringing websites

The public prosecutor was issued a dismissal by the court of The Hague in a case against seven suspects involved with two infringing sites, amongst which Shareconnector. On the sites, users could exchange infringing material. The court ruled that the prosecutor had not conducted a sufficient investigation before starting a criminal prosecution.

In the appeal, the defendants argued that there was insufficient grounds for a criminal case and that instead, the public prosecutor should have started a civil suit. The judge ruled in favour of the defendants. In her judgment, the court based himself on the suggestions of the College of Procurators-General dating from 2002 in which criteria are summed up for criminal enforcement for copyright infringement cases. According to the judge, the prosecutor had not enough grounds to suspect the guilt of the defendants. Moreover, the prosecutor had not conducted sufficient additional research after receiving a file on the sites and the suspects. A criminal case was therefore a step too far.

Tim Kuik, head of Brein, says, in reaction to the statement of the court, that this ruling has no bearing on the civil procedures against Shareconnector. “Earlier this year, Shareconnector has again been found unlawful in a civil suit by the court of Amsterdam. The site needs to remain down on pains of damages of 1000 euro a day, with a maximum of 100.000 euro.”