Language of document :

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 19 December 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Högsta domstolen — Sweden) — Criminal proceedings against Imran Syed

(Case C-572/17) 1

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Copyright and related rights — Directive 2001/29/EC — Article 4(1) — Distribution right — Infringement — Goods bearing a copyrighted motif intended for sale — Storage for commercial purposes — Storage facility separate from place of sale)

Language of the case: Swedish

Referring court

Högsta domstolen

Party in the main proceedings

Imran Syed

Operative part of the judgment

Article 4(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society must be interpreted as meaning that the storage by a retailer of goods bearing a motif protected by copyright on the territory of the Member State where the goods are stored may constitute an infringement of the exclusive distribution right, as defined by that provision, when that retailer offers for sale, without the authorisation of the copyright holder, goods identical to those which he is storing, provided that the stored goods are actually intended for sale on the territory of the Member State in which that motif is protected. The distance between the place of storage and the place of sale cannot, on its own, be a decisive element in determining whether the stored goods are intended for sale on the territory of that Member State.

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1 OJ C 412, 4.12.2017.