The European Court of Human Rights has upheld the conviction of the co-founders of The Pirate Bay. Fredrik Neij, and Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi were charged with complicity to commit crimes in violation of the copyright act.

The two men were sentenced in Stockholm, Sweden to be imprisoned for 1 year and also to pay a fine of 5 million euros. The two unsuccessfully tried to argue that their freedom of expression had been violated, but this was denied by the court.

The Hollywood Reporter states that in the ruling issued on Wednesday, the judges remark that it is indeed necessary to balance free expression with other interests. In this instance, the rights of Neij and Sunde Kolmisoppi to facilitate the exchange of information on the Internet with that of copyright holders to protect against infringement, and authorities need latitude to figure out the appropriate way to handle the balance.