Legislator Case Law & Legislation
KKO 2788/1997 AI generated

Supreme Court held that unauthorized copying of software from an email box constitutes a copyright infringement, not a criminal offense.

Case Number KKO 2788/1997
Court / Authority
Jurisdiction Finland (FI)
Decision Date
Outcome Allowed / Granted

Legislator summary

AI generated

The Supreme Court ruled that the unauthorized copying of computer programs from an email mailbox to personal computers constituted a civil copyright infringement rather than a criminal offense. The defendant established and managed an email box where users transferred and copied software, leading to a dispute over the nature of the violation. The court determined that the act fell under civil liability provisions because it lacked the specific intent and scale required for criminal prosecution under Finnish law.

Legislator headnote

AI generated

Copyright Act 1961, s. 10; Copyright Act 1961, s. 11: Unauthorized copying of protected works constitutes a civil infringement, not a criminal offense, unless specific criminal elements are met.

Keywords

AI generated
copyright infringement email mailbox software copying civil liability criminal threshold unauthorized reproduction Supreme Court ruling

Cited Legislation

AI generated
Copyright Act 1961, s. 10
Copyright Act 1961, s. 11
AI generated

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Full text

A oli perustanut elektronisen postilaatikon, huolehtinut sen toimivuudesta ja hyväksynyt sen käyttäjät. Postilaatikon käyttäjät olivat siirtäneet sinne tietokoneohjelmia ja kopioineet omiin tietokoneisiinsa postilaatikkoon siirrettyjä ohjelmia.

Kysymys A:n menettelyn rangaistavuudesta tekijänoikeusrikoksena tai tekijänoikeusrikkomuksena.