In the criminal case with act no. 2324 and decision no. 2923 dated 04.11.2021, the Tirana Judicial District Court examined the criminal offense of “Violation of industrial property rights” as provided by Article 149/a/2 of the Criminal Code, against two Albanian citizens, who were previously without a criminal record , held higher education degrees, and were capable of assuming criminal responsibility.
The case originated from a criminal complaint filed by a joint stock company, licensed for audiovisual transmissions and holder of exclusive rights over a television platform with protected content, which identified that through “IPTV” applications and various websites, certain individuals, including the defendants, had unlawfully distributed the protected content by offering subscriptions to the public without authorization from the rights holder. From the investigations conducted by the Prosecution Office, supported by the testimonies of the company’s employees and technical expert reports, it was found that, through a seized device utilizing the IPTV portal, channels of both Albanian and foreign television platforms were intentionally and systematically offered, accessible to users via internet connection.
It was also proven that the defendants had obtained monetary income through the sale of these subscriptions, and their activity was neither licensed nor registered with the relevant Albanian authorities, such as AMA or AKEP, which constituted a direct violation of industrial property rights.
The Court analyzed the case in its entirety, both in its objective and subjective aspects. With regard to the objective element, it was concluded that the actions carried out by the defendants corresponded to the provisions of Article 149/a/2 of the Criminal Code, as they involved the distribution and sale of services protected by trademarks without the authorization of the legitimate owner. With regard to the subjective element, it was found that the defendants had acted with direct intent and with full awareness of the unlawfulness of their actions.
Taking into consideration that the defendants had cooperated in the commission of the criminal offense and bearing in mind that no aggravating circumstances existed, but on the contrary, the defendants had no prior convictions, were of young age, and held higher education, the Court decided to declare them guilty and to sentence them with the appropriate fine. The Court reasoned that, although the offense constitutes a criminal misdemeanor with low social danger, the imposition of a fine was necessary to fulfill the purpose of both general and specific prevention, by delivering a legal message on the effective protection of industrial property rights in the Republic of Albania.
