Swedish court rules against ads

The court said ads interrupted the viewing experience of a film

Sweden's Supreme Court has ruled that advertising breaks inserted into films violate the film-makers' copyright.

The case was brought by directors Vilgot Sjoeman and Claes Eriksson, who sued television channel TV4 for introducing ad breaks into their films.

The two directors never gave permission for ads to be shown during their films.

The ruling will not stop all ads on movies shown on Swedish TV as most directors have signed waivers to allow ads in order to obtain funding.

The court ruled that the commercial breaks spoiled the viewing experience.

"Even when a commercial is placed in between scenes... it interrupts the interplay between the film's scenes as planned by the director," the court stated.

"Of course I'm relieved. With this ruling, the decision has been left up to the director whether or not there should be breaks in a film," AFP news agency quoted Mr Eriksson as saying.

Mr Sjoeman died in 2006.

The court ordered TV4 to pay the directors' court costs of $50,000 (£25,000).