The Stockholm District Court created a bit of a stir on Friday, Nov. 27, when it ruled that local ISP Bredbandsbolaget cannot be forced by the plaintiffs to block The Pirate Bay (TPB) and Swefilmer.

The ruling further states that the services provided by the Swedish ISP's operations cannot be deemed as infringement of copyright when these are used by its subscribers who are accessing TPB and the streaming website Swefilmer.

"The ruling is a serious failing for the Swedish judicial system that is already falling behind," said Per Strömbäck of FTVS, the umbrella group which spearheaded the action.

The lawsuit, which was filed by Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music and the Swedish and Nordisk film companies, started trial last month following an EU directive. The latter stressed that each member state is obliged with ensuring that copyright holders can pursue an injunction against intermediary companies whose services are used by a third party that infringe copyright.

Presiding Chief Magistrate Anders Dereborg had also ordered the plaintiffs to pay for the defendant's expenses, the amount of which is expected to go higher than $160,000.

"A unanimous District Court considers, therefore, that it is not in a position to authorize such a ban as the rights holders want and therefore rejects their request," said Dereborg.

The court's ruling indicates that Bredbandsbolaget and its services are in no way indicative of its participation in the infringing actions brought by some of its pirating users.

"We see it as positive that the district court did not consider that Internet operators are accomplices in crimes committed over the Internet," said Anna Byström, Chief Legal Officer of Telenor, the parent company of Bredbandsbolaget. "This is important for freedom of expression and the Swedish model of a free and open Internet."

The lawsuit filed against Bredbandsbolaget makes it the first of its kind in Sweden. The court ruling vindicates the ISPs stance as being a conduit of information and not as an accomplice to its subscribers.

The plaintiffs had decided to file their case with the Svea Court of Appeal. They have until Dec. 18, 2015 to make their move.

"The Court has examined the legislation whose precise purpose is to give rights owners the opportunity to have Internet service providers stop illegal services from reaching Swedish Internet users," said Henrik Bengtsson, legal counsel for the plaintiffs. "Similar legislation already exists in the rest of Scandinavia as well as in much of Europe. We will appeal."

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