Norway

[NO] Telenor not Obliged to Block Access to The Pirate Bay

IRIS 2010-4:1/34

Lars Winsvold

Attorney at Law, Fredrikstad

In November last year a Norwegian District Court ruled that there were no grounds for ordering Telenor, a Norwegian Internet Service Provider, to block internet access to the peer-to-peer search engine The Pirate Bay (see IRIS 2010-1: 1/33). The music and film industry, which had filed the petition for a preliminary injunction, appealed against the decision. The Court of Appeal delivered its decision on 10 February 2010, yet again in favour of Telenor. The Court of Appeal upheld the ruling according to which Telenor does not unlawfully contribute to the infringement of copyright by providing access to the Pirate Bay. There is thus no basis for obliging Telenor to block access to the service. The decision is now final.