Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 16 February 2012 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank van eerste aanleg te Brussel — Belgium) — Belgische Vereniging van Auteurs, Componisten en Uitgevers CVBA (Sabam) v Netlog NV

(Case C-360/10) (1)

(Information society - Copyright - Internet - Hosting service provider - Processing of information stored on an online social networking platform - Introducing a system for filtering that information in order to prevent files being made available which infringe copyright - No general obligation to monitor stored information)

2012/C 98/07

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Rechtbank van eerste aanleg te Brussel

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Belgische Vereniging van Auteurs, Componisten en Uitgevers CVBA (Sabam)

Defendant: Netlog NV

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Rechtbank van eerste aanleg te Brussel — Interpretation of Directives: — 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society (OJ 2001 L 167, p. 10), — 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (OJ 2004 L 157, p. 45), — 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ 1995 L 281, p. 31), — 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) (OJ 2000 L 178, p. 1), — 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ 2002 L 201, p. 37), — Processing of data conveyed over the Internet — Introduction by an online hosting service provider of a system for filtering electronic communications, in abstracto and as a preventive measure, in order to identify consumers deemed to use files infringing a copyright or related right — Application of its own motion by the national court of the principle of proportionality — European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms — Right to respect for private life — Right to freedom of expression

Operative part of the judgment

Directives:

read together and construed in the light of the requirements stemming from the protection of the applicable fundamental rights, must be interpreted as precluding a national court from issuing an injunction against a hosting service provider which requires it to install a system for filtering:

which is capable of identifying electronic files containing musical, cinematographic or audio-visual work in respect of which the applicant for the injunction claims to hold intellectual property rights, with a view to preventing those works from being made available to the public in breach of copyright.

(1)  OJ C 288, 23.10.2010.