Facts
The case concerns a violation of copyright by the reproduction and distribution of a protected work. The defendants, A. and B., representatives of the Verein für Psychologische Menschenkenntnis (VPM), received a copy of an unapproved thesis titled « Zur Verbreitung von Problemfällen im Zusammenhang mit religiösen Vereinigungen und 'pseudoreligiösen', autoritativ-totalitären Gruppierungen und Bewegungen im Kanton Zürich. Eine empirische Studie. » by X. They reproduced and distributed this work to other institutions without the author's consent.
The defendants were fined 800 Swiss francs each by the court of first instance and this decision was upheld by the court of appeal. The defendants filed a nullity appeal with the Federal Court, alleging a violation of the principle of opportunity of criminal prosecution and copyright.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the nullity appeal, considering that the violation of the principle of opportunity of criminal prosecution cannot be the subject of a federal nullity appeal. Furthermore, the Federal Court considered that the defendants had violated copyright by reproducing and distributing the protected work without the author's consent.
The Federal Court also considered that the defendants had not acted within the framework of their own private use, but had rather acted with the intention of harming the author and other institutions. The Federal Court also rejected the defendants' argument that they had acted in order to defend legitimate interests, considering that conflicts of interest between authors and persons…