Article 270 Spanish Criminal Code: Offences against intellectual property

1. Whoever, with intent to obtain a direct or indirect economic benefit and to the detriment of a third party, reproduces, plagiarises, distributes, communicates to the public or in any other way economically exploits, in whole or in part, a literary, artistic or scientific work or performance, or its transformation, interpretation or artistic execution fixed in any kind of medium or communicated through any means, without the authorisation of the holders of the corresponding intellectual property rights or of their assignees, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to four years and a fine of twelve to twenty four months.

2. The same penalty shall be imposed on whoever, in the provision of information society services, with intent to obtain a direct or indirect economic benefit and to the detriment of a third party, facilitates in an active and non neutral manner, and not confining itself to a merely technical treatment, access to or the location on the internet of works or performances which are the object of intellectual property without the authorisation of the holders of the corresponding rights or of their assignees, in particular by offering ordered and classified lists of links to the works and content referred to above, even where those links were initially provided by the recipients of its services.

3. In such cases, the judge or court shall order the withdrawal of the works or performances which are the object of the infringement. Where, through an internet access portal or an information society service, the content which is the object of the intellectual property referred to in the preceding paragraphs is disseminated exclusively or predominantly, the interruption of the provision of that service shall be ordered, and the judge may order any precautionary measure whose object is the protection of intellectual property rights.

Exceptionally, where there is repetition of the conduct and where it is a proportionate, efficient and effective measure, the blocking of the corresponding access may be ordered.

4. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, street or merely occasional distribution or marketing shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years.

Nevertheless, having regard to the characteristics of the offender and to the reduced amount of the economic benefit obtained or which might have been obtained, provided that none of the circumstances of Article 271 is present, the judge may impose a fine of one to six months or community service of thirty one to sixty days.

5. The following shall be punished with the penalties provided for in the preceding paragraphs, in their respective cases, those who:

a) Intentionally export or store copies of the works, productions or performances referred to in the first two paragraphs of this article, including digital copies of them, without the said authorisation, where they were intended to be reproduced, distributed or communicated to the public.

b) Intentionally import those products without such authorisation, where they were intended to be reproduced, distributed or communicated to the public, whether they have a lawful or an unlawful origin in their country of provenance; nevertheless, the importation of those products from a State belonging to the European Union shall not be punishable where they have been acquired directly from the holder of the rights in that State, or with the consent of that holder.

c) Favour or facilitate the carrying out of the conduct referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article by removing or modifying, without the authorisation of the holders of the intellectual property rights or of their assignees, the effective technological measures incorporated by them for the purpose of preventing or restricting its performance.

d) With intent to obtain a direct or indirect economic benefit, for the purpose of facilitating to third parties access to a copy of a literary, artistic or scientific work, or to its transformation, interpretation or artistic execution, fixed in any kind of medium or communicated through any means, and without the authorisation of the holders of the intellectual property rights or of their assignees, circumvent or facilitate the circumvention of the effective technological measures put in place to prevent it.

6. Whoever manufactures, imports, puts into circulation or possesses for a commercial purpose any means principally conceived, produced, adapted or made in order to facilitate the unauthorised suppression or the neutralisation of any technical device which has been used to protect computer programs or any of the other works, interpretations or performances on the terms provided for in the first two paragraphs of this article shall also be punished with imprisonment of six months to three years.

Working translation prepared by Société Juridique from the consolidated Spanish text published by the Official State Gazette. It has no official status: the only authoritative version is the Spanish original, available at the Official State Gazette and reproduced verbatim in our Spanish-language entry for this provision. Source: Organic Law 10/1995 of 23 November, the Spanish Criminal Code.