Bulgaria’s copyright regime is broken because it didn’t properly implement EU rules that justify web-blocking, say labels
The article reports that Bulgaria’s music industry has urged the European Commission to ensure EU copyright laws are properly implemented across all Member States before introducing new anti-piracy legislation. The appeal follows a landmark decision by Bulgaria’s Supreme Court, which ruled that the country’s current copyright framework does not provide a legal basis for courts to order website blocking against pirate sites, despite requirements contained in EU law.
The complaint was submitted by BAMP (Bulgarian Association of Music Producers) after record labels and IFPI failed in their long-running effort to obtain blocking orders against The Pirate Bay and Bulgarian torrent site Zamunda. Litigation began in 2020, but earlier this year the Supreme Court concluded that Bulgarian legislation had never fully transposed the relevant European directives into national law, preventing courts from issuing permanent ISP blocking injunctions.
According to BAMP, the ruling demonstrates a fundamental weakness in Bulgaria’s copyright regime. The association argues that although the 2001 EU Copyright Directive (InfoSoc Directive) and the 2004 Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) require Member States to provide effective injunctions against intermediaries such as internet service providers, Bulgaria failed to incorporate those provisions into its domestic legislation when implementing EU law.
As a result, BAMP has asked the European Commission to prioritize enforcement of existing legislation before proposing additional copyright reforms. The organization argues that ensuring all Member States correctly implement current directives would immediately improve copyright protection and create greater legal certainty, rather than introducing new rules while existing obligations remain unmet.
The article notes that website blocking has become one of the music industry’s primary anti-piracy tools across Europe, but its effectiveness varies significantly between countries. While jurisdictions such as the UK, Italy and Portugal routinely grant dynamic blocking injunctions, Bulgaria remains an exception because of the legislative gap identified by its Supreme Court. This has left rights holders without one of the most widely used legal remedies against large-scale piracy websites.
The article concludes that the Bulgarian case highlights the importance of consistent implementation of EU copyright law. BAMP argues that harmonizing national legislation across the European Union would strengthen anti-piracy enforcement, improve legal certainty for creators and rights holders, and ensure that copyright protections operate uniformly throughout the single market.
