Straffrättsliga sanktioner vid piratkopiering - En analys av påföljdsbestämningen i praxis mot bakgrund av de upphovs- respektive varumärkesrättsliga straffsanktionernas syften och skyddsintressen
(2018) JURM02 20181Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- The rapid digital development has caused intellectual property rights to increase in importance and economic value. In line with this development, piracy has become an ever-increasing problem. During the last ten years, an increasing trend has also appeared in regards to criminal law proceedings concerning piracy infringements. Criminal proceedings in the field of intellectual property have previously been unusual and the subject has therefore been given relatively scant attention in doctrine.
This paper examines and analyzes criminal liability rules in the sentencing of intentional and grossly negligent copyright and trademark infringements (in this paper referred to as “piracy”). This is done by clarifying which circumstances that... (More) - The rapid digital development has caused intellectual property rights to increase in importance and economic value. In line with this development, piracy has become an ever-increasing problem. During the last ten years, an increasing trend has also appeared in regards to criminal law proceedings concerning piracy infringements. Criminal proceedings in the field of intellectual property have previously been unusual and the subject has therefore been given relatively scant attention in doctrine.
This paper examines and analyzes criminal liability rules in the sentencing of intentional and grossly negligent copyright and trademark infringements (in this paper referred to as “piracy”). This is done by clarifying which circumstances that shall be taken into account in the sentencing of piracy cases. Furthermore, it is examined whether these considerations are indeed within the scope of the copyright and trademark criminal liability rules.
The penal sanctions of the Swedish Copyright Act and the Trademark Act aim, inter alia, to rectify intentional and grossly negligent infringements of the exclusive rights that are protected by these laws. The primary protection interest of the sanctions is the right of the proprietors to decide on the use of his work or trademark. The courts take this interest into account in the sentencing. In determining the penal value, consideration is given primarily to whether the piracy had an organized form, if it was of a commercial nature and for profit purposes, along with if it was of considerable magnitude and whether it was committed intentionally or with gross negligence.
Trademarks are not only for the protection of its proprietors but also for consumers as the trademark, among other things, serves as a guarantee that a product is of a certain quality or level of safety. Certain third party interests may therefore be considered to be another objective of the Trademark Act’s penal sanction. The Supreme Court has established that in the assessment of the penal value of a crime it should be taken into consideration if a third party, as a consequence of a trademark infringement, is misled by to buy a product or service other than his belief. In the case study of this paper, it also appears that this circumstance should be taken into account in crimes against all intellectual property laws, including copyright law. However, copyright does not have a function similar to the trademark's warranty function and hence should third-party interests not be considered to be covered by the copyright penal sanction.
Another question of relevance is whether crimes against copyright law or trademark law are considered to be a so-called "artbrott", which implies that the very nature of the infringement would serve to rebut the general presumption against imprisonment. The Supreme Court has argued that neither copyright nor trademark infringement shall be treated in such manner in the sentencing, however the reasoning in these cases have been somewhat limited. In light of the increasing problems of piracy and the objectives of the criminal sanctions, it is possible to question the Court’s notice in this regard. Hence, the Supreme Court may very well have good reasons to review this assessment in the future. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Den snabba digitala utvecklingen har medfört att immaterialrättsliga tillgångar har ökat i betydelse samt ekonomiskt värde, och i takt med denna utveckling har piratkopieringen kommit att bli ett allt större problem. De senaste tio åren har samtidigt en trendökning skett i praxis vad gäller straffrättsligt ansvar vid piratkopiering. Straffrättsliga förfaranden inom det immaterialrättsliga området har tidigare varit ovanligt och ämnet har därför behandlats relativt lite i doktrin.
Denna uppsats undersöker och analyserar straffrättsliga ansvarsregler vid påföljdsbestämningen vid uppsåtliga och grovt oaktsamma upphovs- och varumärkesrättsliga intrång (i uppsatsen benämnt som fall av ”piratkopiering”). Detta görs genom att klarlägga vilka... (More) - Den snabba digitala utvecklingen har medfört att immaterialrättsliga tillgångar har ökat i betydelse samt ekonomiskt värde, och i takt med denna utveckling har piratkopieringen kommit att bli ett allt större problem. De senaste tio åren har samtidigt en trendökning skett i praxis vad gäller straffrättsligt ansvar vid piratkopiering. Straffrättsliga förfaranden inom det immaterialrättsliga området har tidigare varit ovanligt och ämnet har därför behandlats relativt lite i doktrin.
Denna uppsats undersöker och analyserar straffrättsliga ansvarsregler vid påföljdsbestämningen vid uppsåtliga och grovt oaktsamma upphovs- och varumärkesrättsliga intrång (i uppsatsen benämnt som fall av ”piratkopiering”). Detta görs genom att klarlägga vilka omständigheter som idag ska beaktas vid påföljdsbestämningen i piratkopieringsmål. Vidare undersöks huruvida nuvarande bedömning är inom ramen för de upphovsrättsliga respektive varumärkesrättsliga straffsanktionernas syfte och skyddsintresse.
Upphovsrättslagens och varumärkeslagens straffsanktioner syftar bland annat till att komma till rätta med uppsåtliga och grovt oaktsamma intrång i respektive lags ensamrätt. Sanktionernas primära skyddsintresse är rättighetsinnehavarens rätt att bestämma över användningen av sitt verk eller kännetecken. Detta intresse beaktar domstolarna vid påföljdsbestämningen. Vid fastställandet av straffvärdet tas i praxis främst hänsyn till huruvida piratkopieringen haft en organiserad form, varit av kommersiell karaktär, medfört skador för rättighetsinnehavaren, bedrivits med vinstsyfte, verksamhetens omsättning och huruvida intrånget begåtts med uppsåt eller grov oaktsamhet.
Varumärken kan inte anses vara till skydd för dess innehavare utan även för konsumenter, då varumärket bl.a. fungerar som en garanti för att en vara uppnår en viss kvalitet eller säkerhetsnivå. Vissa tredjemans intressen får följaktligen anses vara ett annat skyddsintresse som varumärkeslagens straffsanktion tar sikte på. HD har slagit fast att hänsyn vid bedömningen av straffvärdet ska tas till att tredje man genom ett varumärkesintrång vilseleds att köpa en annan vara eller tjänst än denne trott, tillsammans med de risker som är knutna till det. I uppsatsens rättfallstudie framstår det vidare som att denna omständighet ska kunna beaktas vid alla immaterialrättsliga intrång, så även vid upphovsrättsliga. Inom upphovsrätten finns dock ingen motsvarighet till varumärkets garantifunktion och därmed bör inte ett sådant intresse täckas av den upphovsrättsliga straffsanktionen.
En annan intressant fråga är huruvida brott mot upphovsrättslagen eller varumärkeslagen ska anses utgöra ett så kallat ”artbrott”, vilket innebär att den generella presumtionen mot fängelse som påföljd kan brytas. HD har anfört att varken upphovsrättsliga eller varumärkesrättsliga intrång ska särbehandlas på sådant sätt vid påföljdsbestämningen. Förklaringarna till detta beslut har dock varit mycket knapphändiga. Mot bakgrund av det ökade och allt mer allvarliga hot piratkopieringen utgör mot upphovs-och varumärkesrättens syften och skyddsintressen är domstolens besked i detta avseende möjligt att ifrågasätta. Det kan därför finnas anledning för HD att se över denna bedömning i framtiden. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8940841
- author
- Arestad, Cecilia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Criminal penalties in piracy cases - An analysis of the sentencing in light of the objectives and protection interests of the penal sanctions of copyright and trademark right law
- course
- JURM02 20181
- year
- 2018
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- immaterialrätt, straffrätt
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 8940841
- date added to LUP
- 2018-06-12 09:23:43
- date last changed
- 2018-06-12 09:23:43
@misc{8940841,
abstract = {{The rapid digital development has caused intellectual property rights to increase in importance and economic value. In line with this development, piracy has become an ever-increasing problem. During the last ten years, an increasing trend has also appeared in regards to criminal law proceedings concerning piracy infringements. Criminal proceedings in the field of intellectual property have previously been unusual and the subject has therefore been given relatively scant attention in doctrine.
This paper examines and analyzes criminal liability rules in the sentencing of intentional and grossly negligent copyright and trademark infringements (in this paper referred to as “piracy”). This is done by clarifying which circumstances that shall be taken into account in the sentencing of piracy cases. Furthermore, it is examined whether these considerations are indeed within the scope of the copyright and trademark criminal liability rules.
The penal sanctions of the Swedish Copyright Act and the Trademark Act aim, inter alia, to rectify intentional and grossly negligent infringements of the exclusive rights that are protected by these laws. The primary protection interest of the sanctions is the right of the proprietors to decide on the use of his work or trademark. The courts take this interest into account in the sentencing. In determining the penal value, consideration is given primarily to whether the piracy had an organized form, if it was of a commercial nature and for profit purposes, along with if it was of considerable magnitude and whether it was committed intentionally or with gross negligence.
Trademarks are not only for the protection of its proprietors but also for consumers as the trademark, among other things, serves as a guarantee that a product is of a certain quality or level of safety. Certain third party interests may therefore be considered to be another objective of the Trademark Act’s penal sanction. The Supreme Court has established that in the assessment of the penal value of a crime it should be taken into consideration if a third party, as a consequence of a trademark infringement, is misled by to buy a product or service other than his belief. In the case study of this paper, it also appears that this circumstance should be taken into account in crimes against all intellectual property laws, including copyright law. However, copyright does not have a function similar to the trademark's warranty function and hence should third-party interests not be considered to be covered by the copyright penal sanction.
Another question of relevance is whether crimes against copyright law or trademark law are considered to be a so-called "artbrott", which implies that the very nature of the infringement would serve to rebut the general presumption against imprisonment. The Supreme Court has argued that neither copyright nor trademark infringement shall be treated in such manner in the sentencing, however the reasoning in these cases have been somewhat limited. In light of the increasing problems of piracy and the objectives of the criminal sanctions, it is possible to question the Court’s notice in this regard. Hence, the Supreme Court may very well have good reasons to review this assessment in the future.}},
author = {{Arestad, Cecilia}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Straffrättsliga sanktioner vid piratkopiering - En analys av påföljdsbestämningen i praxis mot bakgrund av de upphovs- respektive varumärkesrättsliga straffsanktionernas syften och skyddsintressen}},
year = {{2018}},
}