Pismo Omladine JAZAS-a Telenoru u Norveškoj / Letter to Ola Jo Tandre, Director of Corporate Responsibility in Telenor Norway

From: Karlo Boras
Sent: Thursday, 21 July, 2011 17:20
To: ola-jo.tandre@telenor.com
Cc: mai.oldgard@telenor.com; Kjell-Morten.Johnsen@telenor.rs; Dejana Rankovic; Boris Ciglic
Subject: Kontakt magazine - Telenor Serbia

Attn: Ola Jo Tandre, Director, Corporate Responsibility

Cc: Mai Oldgard, Vice President, Head of Corporate Responsibility

Cc: Kjell-Morten Johnsen, CEO of Telenor Serbia

Dear Mr. Tandre,

We are writing you on behalf of the Yugoslav Youth Association Against AIDS. We are local non-profit organization established in 1994 and we work on HIV prevention and protection of human rights of people living with HIV and vulnerable groups. We would like to bring to your attention the ongoing issue that our organization has with Telenor.

In 2008 we started issuing the magazine Kontakt dedicated to mainstreaming problems we are dealing with. In 2009, Telenor Serbia started issuing the magazine with the very same name and very similar graphic design solution of the cover page. By that, Telenor Serbia violated our copyrights, moreover, started confusing our readers who were not clear whether the magazine is issued by us or by Telenor, and whether we make profit out of it.

We tried to resolve this in dialogue. We addressed to Telenor Serbia more than a year ago and asked that the name of the magazine should be changed. Telenor Serbia’s lawyer came to our office in April 2010 and asked what we are requiring in return to give up from our request. We did not ask for money, but we suggested that jointly with Telenor Foundation we design the action that will promote healthy life styles with young people in Serbia. We believed that this is a fair solution from which both will benefit Telenor Serbia and citizens of Serbia.

Regretfully, our suggestion was declined and Telenor Serbia continued issuing the magazine, with just slightly changed font in the headline. As you would expect, the only remaining step for us was to address to the court. Last Friday, the court adopted our demand and decided that distribution of Telenor Kontakt should be temporarily banned, until the conclusion of the court case.

We did not address to the public, either in Serbia or in Norway. We are genuinely driven by desire to resolve this in dialogue. We do not have money to pay costly lawyers, but we will persist in what we believe is rightfully. Our colleagues from Norwegian AIDS and human rights organizations advised us that we should address to you in the first place.

Please find enclosed informal translation of the court decision for your attention. We are also enclosing cover pages of Telenor Serbia and Youth of JAZAS' magazine. Should you need any further information, I would gladly provide it for you.

With my best regards,

Karlo Boras

Karlo Boras  |  Executive Director  |  Youth of JAZAS

    

front page of OJAZAS' magazine     

front page of Telenor's magazine

Žalba Telenora / Telenor's Appeal

Rešenje suda da Telenor postupi po zahtevu iz tužbe / High Court in Belgrade ruled:

REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

HIGH COURT IN BELGRADE

P4 number 75/11

4^th of July 2011

Belgrade

Timocka Street 15

                HIGH COURT IN BELGRADE ruled by judge Marina Klaric-Zivkovic as an individual judge at court chamber, in civil dispute of the actor Youth of JAZAS from Belgrade, 35, 27. Marta Street, represented by Dragan Tomic, attorney from Belgrade, 51, Kralja Petra Street, acting against defendant “Telenor” ltd. 90, Omladinskih Brigada Street, represented by Kjell-Morten Johnsen, executive manager, on the matter of violation of copyright law, legal dispute value 2.000.000,00 dinars, while deciding about the coercive remedy has, on 4^th July 2011, reached the following:

DECISION

            I Coercive remedy as proposed by the actor is to be adopted therefore ENGAGING the defendant “Telenor” ltd. from Belgrade, 90 Omladinskih Brigada Street to withdraw all of the published issues of the magazine “Kontakt” and cease with their further circulation.

                II This coercive remedy is to be effective until legal validity of the judgement is reached.

                III The execution of this decision is not to be withheld should defendant appeal.

EXPLANATION

                The actor sued the defendant at High Court in Belgrade on 8^th June 2011 claiming the violation of copyright law simultaneously proposing coercive remedy to be taken. The actor claims to be the owner and the publisher of the magazine “Kontakt” which is being issued since 2008, making it recognizable and well accepted by the great number of readers, as alleged in the lawsuit. The actor explained that the defendant had afterwards, throughout 2009, started with publication and selling of their own magazine under the same name and letter font, thus making the defendant’s own magazine accessible to wider audience distributing it in their sales departments. What is more, the actor added that by publication and selling of the magazine under the same name and the same, i.e. similar, graphic design of the front page, the defendant is undoubtedly violating the actors copyright thus leading consumers to fallacy. The actor claims to have, on numerous occasions, attempted to solve the existing problem, yet ineffectively and therefore, explains in the lawsuit their intention to legally determine the violation of copyrights that defendant’s actions have caused, demanding the cease of the wrongdoing and rightful compensation of ownership rights. According to all previously acknowledged, the actor has proposed that, after the judicial proceeding is terminated, the Court arbitrates by adopting the actor’s claim and determine that the defendant has violated actor’s copyright by publication and selling of the magazine “Kontakt”, to charge the defendant to discontinue publication and selling of the magazine “Kontakt”, to herald both this judgement and public apology in “Politika” daily newspaper on their own expense, to oblige the defendant to fully decompensate  the ownership rights in the amount of 2.000.000,00 dinars and to decompensate all of the expenses that the actor had to make due to this judicial procedure. Furthermore, the actor proposed that the Court adopts coercive remedy to withdraw all of the published issues of the magazine “Kontakt” and cease with their further circulation under the threat of compulsory execution.

                The Court has inspected the Youth of JAZAS’s magazine about and for the HIV making sure that its name really is “Kontakt” and that it is written in latin alphabet. Furthermore, the Court has determined, from the impressum, the ownership of the magazine to belong to Yugoslav Youth Association Against AIDS - Youth of JAZAS 35, 27. Marta Street 11000 Belgrade Serbia, as well as its editor in chief to be Dejana Rankovic and editor executive Ljiljana Mihajlovic and that the magazine is being published since August 2008 with 2000 copies in circulation.

                The Court has inspected the free monthly magazine about the better side of the communication and determined its name to be “Kontakt”, that the very name is written in Latin alphabet. Furthermore, the impressum revealed the publisher of this magazine to be “Telenor” ltd. 90, Omladinskih Brigada Street 11070 Novi Beograd, the editor in chief to be Marek Slacik, the name of the ninth issue to be “Telenor Kontakt” and that the first issue of the magazine in question was published in 2009. From the front page of the magazine “Kontakt” published by “Telenor”, the Court has determined that the very issue was eighteenth and that it was published in April 2011.

                The Court has inspected the decision of Business Registers Agency of Republic of Serbia, Register of Public Media BJG 1/2009 from 29^th October 2009 and determined that this very decision has registered “Kontakt” magazine for and about the HIV in the registry of public media, registration number MB 000001, establishment year 2008, the address 35, 27. Marta Street Belgrade – Palilula, the distribution of the magazine to be quarterly and the full name of the founder Yugoslav Youth Association Against AIDS - Youth of JAZAS, identification number 17063740.

                The hearing was held on 4^th July 2011 in order to designate coercive remedy; the actor’s representative stated to remain bound with all previously stated in his lawsuit and its claim, so he proposed a coercive remedy to be undertaken by the Court.

                When deciding about the coercive remedy, the Court has determined it to be fully grounded.

                According to the article 302 paragraph 2 of Executive Procedure Act, coercive remedy is allowed to be established when creditor vindicates the probability of use of force or irreparable damage therefore stating the necessity of the measure.

                The article 210 of Copyright and Similar Rights Act states that on the demand of the owner of the right in question who has proven likelihood of violation of his right or even the possibility of violation, the Court can establish coercive remedy in order to deprive or withdraw from circulation the object with which the damage is being done or establish a measure of discontinuing of undertaken actions which may cause harm.

                According to all previously stated, and bearing in mind that the first edition of the magazine about and for the HIV of Youth of JAZAS was published in August 2008, and that the first magazine about the better side of the communication of “Telenor” was published in 2009, while both of the magazines were published under the same name, written in Latin alphabet in similar letter font, the Court states that the actor has proven the likelihood of the violation of their right and has, according to article 302 paragraph 2 of Executive Procedure Act and the article 210 of Copyright and Similar Rights Act ruled as previously announced in the Decision paragraph.

Judge

Marina Klaric-Zivkovic

APPEAL INSTRUCTION:

The appeal on this decision is to be declared in the limit of 15 days from the day of its reception, to the Court of Appeals in Belgrade, through this Court.