Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile Fined over Copyright Infringement

The Sofia Municipal Court has recently ruled against a leading Bulgarian mobile operator, Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile, in a case of copyright infringement.

According to the court decision issued on May 7, 2009, in 2004 Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile infringed the copyright of the Bulgarian journalist Georg Kunchev by unauthorized use of the original footage from the film he co-authored and scripted, One Bulgarian Summer, released in 1995.

In 2004, the infringer distributed its promotional packages that included a short film entitled BG Football — The Golden Trail recorded on VHS tapes and DVDs, as well as a photo album called “24-karat Football.”

Both products contained the disputed footage from the film One Bulgarian Summer, which depicts successful participation of the Bulgarian national football at the World Football Championship Cup in the USA in 1994.

Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile was fined EUR 8,578 (USD 12,080), plus the interest rate as of March 2, 2005.

For more information, please contact Milena Bogoslovova in our Bulgaria Office.