Sweden’s internet service providers cannot be forced to block file sharing site the Pirate Bay nor be held responsible for copyright infringements by users, a court has ruled.

Stockholm District Court rejected a lawsuit filed by the Swedish Film Industry, Nordisk Film, Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music last year which argued that Sweden’s second-largest internet service provider (ISP) Bredbandsbolaget should be held liable for the copyright infringements of its users should it refuse to block access to the Pirate Bay.

The court said in a statement: “The District Court considers that Bredbandsbolaget’s operation and conduct in the present case does not constitute participation under Swedish law.”

The court blocked the action by a unanimous decision and the film and music rightsholders who filed the lawsuit were ordered to pay Bredbandsbolaget’s costs.

The ruling leaves the door open to further action within the Svea Court of Appeal, where it is possible Bredbandsbolaget could still be ordered to block the Pirate Bay, as is the case for many ISPs across Europe.

The Pirate Bay was launched in Sweden by Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde in 2003, and quickly became one of the world’s largest BitTorrent indexes. The site grew to notoriety and became the central focus for copyright holders.



The founders were found guilty of assisting in making copyrighted content available in 2009. Despite several takedowns and resurrections, the site has continued to operate leading to multiple actions from media companies attempting to block it from the internet.