Most likely the Swedes can explain the exact nuances better, but from the little I have gathered, it seems that Swedish Supreme Court today decided that although there is Freedom of Panorama in Sweden, it cannot be extended to publishing the images of public art on the Internet.

Now, the exact reasoning, all the consequences and WMSE's further actions notwithstanding, my question is whether this makes Sweden the only country in the world where such a distinction is established? If yes, this is a very dangerous precedent. If not, I would very much want to know the peculiarities in the other cases.

In either case, we should be prepared to counter suggestions to adapt that distinction to the other countries in Europe.

Some links:

* WMSE's press release: http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressreleases/hoegsta-domstolen-vaeljer-att-krympa-det-offentliga-rummet-istaellet-foer-att-gaa-paa-wikimedia-sveriges-linje-1360834

* The same in Google Translate: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mynewsdesk.com%2Fse%2Fpressreleases%2Fhoegsta-domstolen-vaeljer-att-krympa-det-offentliga-rummet-istaellet-foer-att-gaa-paa-wikimedia-sveriges-linje-1360834&edit-text=

* Supreme Court's decision in Google Translate: https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.hogstadomstolen.se/Domstolar/hogstadomstolen/Avgoranden/2016/2016-04-04%2520%25C3%2596%2520849-15%2520Beslut.pdf&usg=ALkJrhhlSJXySoC2n5KkvshhCcIsShp6iQ

* Swedish Copyright Act in English (on Unesco's homepage): http://portal.unesco.org/culture/admin/file_download.php/se_copyright_2005_en.pdf?URL_ID=30264&filename=11418280643se_copyright_2005_en.pdf&filetype=application%2Fpdf&filesize=174806&name=se_copyright_2005_en.pdf&location=user-S/

Some coverage in Swedish:

http://feber.se/webb/art/346833/offentligkonstse_bryter_mot_up/  http://www.svt.se/kultur/konst/brottsligt-sprida-bilder-av-offentligt-konst-pa-natet  http://www.fotosidan.se/cldoc/lag-och-ratt/hd-dom-olagligt-att-publicera-bilder.htm http://www.friatider.se/wikipedia-f-r-inte-visa-bilder-p-konstverk http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/konst-form/hd-brottsligt-att-sprida-bilder-av-offentlig-konst-pa-natet/  http://www.kamerabild.se/nyheter/foto/hd-beslut-olagligt-att-avbilda-konst-f-r-spridning-p-n-tet

One particular piece of news in translation, demonstrating the journalist's depth of comprehension, starting with the headline "Copyright of outdoor art also applies online": 

Enjoy.

Raul