Bulgaria's highest court has ruled that civil site blocking is legally impossible under current national law. Bulgaria failed to properly transpose the EU directives that authorize blocking injunctions. The decision is a major setback for rightsholders, including the association of music producers, which has asked the European Commission to intervene.

Bulgaria was one of the first countries in the world to consider pirate site blocking nearly two decades ago.

As part of a crackdown on local torrent trackers, the government ordered ISPs to block access to the ArenaBG tracker in 2007.

The blocking actions resulted in public outrage and street protests. Some Internet providers pushed back as well, questioning the legality of the requested measures, and the blocking instructions were eventually withdrawn.

Today, nearly twenty years have passed and Bulgaria continues to struggle with site blocking. This, despite being part of the EU, where site blocking mechanisms are widely authorized.

Blocking The Pirate Bay and Zamunda

In February 2020, the Bulgarian Association of Music Producers (BAMP) and IFPI launched a civil lawsuit against three ISPs, seeking a court order requiring them to block The Pirate Bay and Zamunda, the country’s most-visited torrent site.

Two of the three ISPs fought back hard. They described the claim as “inadmissible” and “baseless.” One, identified only as ‘N.1’ in court documents, pointed out that Bulgarian law does not recognize a claim “for blocking access to Internet sites,” and argued that EU law requiring member states to ensure access to injunction applications against intermediaries would not apply because Bulgaria had not yet transposed those provisions into national law.

The Sofia City Court disagreed. In May 2023, it ordered the three ISPs to block both sites, including all mirrors and proxies, within six months. BAMP called it “a major step forward” in the fight against music piracy. IFPI chief executive Francis Moore welcomed the ruling. It was, by all appearances, a landmark win.

However, the first Bulgarian site blocking order wasn’t final yet, as the ISPs appealed.

ISPs Win Blocking Appeal at Supreme Court

Earlier this year, Bulgaria’s Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) issued its final ruling in the blocking case, siding with the ISPs. The court held that under current Bulgarian copyright law, rightsholders cannot obtain pirate site blocking injunctions in standard civil proceedings.

EU law, specifically the Enforcement Directive (IPRED), requires member states to provide mechanisms for injunctions against intermediaries. However, the court found that Bulgaria has not fully transposed those provisions into its national copyright legislation in a way that makes permanent blocking injunctions an option.

The court noted that ISPs are seen as mere conduits. Without clear national rules balancing freedom of information and proportionality, courts cannot issue site blocking injunctions based on current copyright law.

This effectively means that Bulgarian lawmakers have to address the shortcomings with new legislation, before site blocking orders can be granted.

BAMP Wants EU to Step In

The Supreme Court appeal concluded earlier this year but largely went unnoticed, as local press didn’t pick it up. The only public mention was a brief client bulletin published by Sofia law firm Dimitrov, Petrov & Co., which is intended for corporate clients rather than the public.

The ruling came on our radar last week, when BAMP submitted its response to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence on a targeted initiative for a better copyright environment. The Supreme Court ruling shows that the EU must require its members to implement existing EU directives.

“The Court identified a legislative deficiency, holding that the existing provisions of the Bulgarian Copyright Act do not provide a legal basis for granting final website-blocking injunctions against intermediaries on the merits and that this deficiency can only be remedied through legislative action.”

“This illustrates the importance of ensuring the full and correct implementation of the existing EU acquis across all Member States before considering further legislative initiatives,” BAMP’s submission adds.

From BAMP’s submission

It’s Not Over Yet

The Bulgarian ruling means that, after all these years, local rightsholders are still without site blocking options. This doesn’t mean that the country isn’t making any copyright enforcement progress. With help from the U.S., Bulgaria shut down the country’s largest torrent trackers earlier this year, including ArenaBG, Zamunda, and Zelka.

Not much later, the U.S. Trade Representative removed the country from the “Watch List” category in its annual Special 301 Report. The U.S. praised the country for its significant enforcement actions, among other things.

The Supreme court ruling presents a clear setback for rightsholders. However, they are not without recourse. As highlighted by Dimitrov, Petrov & Co., the Supreme Court noted that rightsholders that are harmed by Bulgaria’s failure to fully implement EU requirements, could potentially sue the state for damages.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian lawmakers have been working on an amendment to the Copyright and Related Rights Act that could potentially address the shortcomings. The amendment has been in preparation since at least 2022 but, as of today, it has yet to be approved.

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A copy of BAMP’s submission to the European Commission Call for Evidence is available here (pdf). TorrentFreak did not have access to the Supreme Court’s full ruling. The reporting here is based on the BAMP submission and the coverage from Dimitrov, Petrov & Co.