Hedman represented the Ministry of Justice in a dispute with various Estonian authors’ and performers’ societies

Hedman advised and represented the Ministry of Justice in long-term disputes with various Estonian authors’ and performers’ societies concerning blank media levies for the period 2014-2020.

There were three court cases in total (case 3-18-1490, 3-21-1661, 3-13-366).

A claim against the Government of Estonia was made by the copyright collective societies due to the non-implementation of EU Directive 2001/29 article 5 (2) b. The key issue was the extent of damage and the amount of compensation. The total claim was approximately 50 million EUR.

The case was finally settled by the Supreme Court. In favor of the copyright societies, the court granted them in total 6,43 million EUR.

The client is advised by the partner and senior associate Toomas Seppel.