The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) this week rejected an appeal from two founders of The Pirate Bay to overturn a Swedish copyright conviction from last year.

The ECHR unanimously rejected an argument by The Pirate Bay founders Peter Sunde and Fredrik Neij that their copyright conviction violated their right to freedom of speech. The pair, who were convicted of being complicit in others' breach of the Copyright Act, had argued they could not be held responsible for how people used the The Pirate Bay.

Sweden's Supreme Court last February denied an appeal to overturn jail sentences and a €5m fine previously imposed on Sunde, Neij, as well as fellow co-founders, Carl Lundstrom and Gottfrid Svartholm. Svartholm, who was deported from Cambodia last year, is expected to soon face separate and more serious hacking charges, according to TorrentFreak.

Sunde and Neij filed the appeal with the ECHR in June 2012, referencing Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

Convicted of being complicit in others breach of the Copyright Act, the pair had tried to argue they had not committed any offence and only facilitated the exchange of information, therefore the Swedish conviction had violated their right to freedom of speech.

The ECHR accepted that file-sharing copyright-protected material was covered by Article 10, but said the Swedish courts correctly balanced the rights of copyright holders with freedom of speech. The Court also noted the Swedish courts had a "wide margin of appreciation" to decide on this since it did not involve political expression and debate.

In a statement, the ECHR said: