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Netherlands-based anti-piracy organisation BREIN has appealed to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in its dispute with Usenet provider News-Service Europe (NSE).
Usenet is an international collection of organisations and individuals whose computers connect and exchange messages posted by Usenet users.
Last year, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal held that the company was not liable for its users’ piracy, but BREIN is hoping to overturn this decision.
The court ruled that NSE had not infringed copyright because as an intermediary it is not liable for infringements made on its platform by users.
However, the court did order NSE to implement an effective notice-and-takedown procedure.
In a statement (in Dutch) released on Tuesday, March 14, BREIN said it felt the decision by the Court of Appeal was an “error”.
The anti-piracy organisation said it had no issue with Usenet itself, but with commercial providers abusing the service in order to facilitate infringement for commercial gain.
Patrick Schreurs, CEO of NSE, said: "It is not surprising to us that BREIN, who first applauded the verdict and called the ruling an important victory, isn’t able to face reality."
He added that NSE had acted as an "ordinary neutral Usenet provider" and therefore can’t be held liable for the content on its platform uploaded by others.
BREIN, online piracy, Usenet, Supreme Court of the Netherlands, News-Service Europe, anti-piracy
