The Commercial Court in Belgrade has once again dismissed Telekom Serbia’s multi-million dollar lawsuit seeking damages from United Group, SBB, the N1 television network and the Nova.rs portal. The court also ordered Telekom Serbia to pay approximately 7.5 million dinars in court costs. Telekom Serbia had initiated the lawsuit amid significant media coverage, alleging unfair market practices. The court accepted the defendants’ testimonies as “truthful and logical, consistent with other presented evidence,” but rejected the testimony of Telekom Serbia’s director, Vladimir Lučić, regarding the legal conditions for claiming unfair competition, according to United Media (UM).
The lawsuit stemmed from Telekom Serbia’s dissatisfaction with the coverage by N1 and Nova.rs from June to August 2020. These media outlets had investigated the profitability of Telekom’s acquisitions, including the purchase of several cable operators in Serbia during 2018 and 2019, and reported on the business practices of Telekom as described by former Government Anti-Corruption Council member Jelisaveta Vasilić. They also examined the justification of Telekom’s business decisions, such as acquiring sports rights and evaluating its overall profitability and transparency.
Filed in December 2020, the lawsuit demanded an unprecedented 80 million euros in damages, alleging that the independent media outlets were spreading false information and violating journalistic standards. Following an initial decision in May 2022, the Commercial Court has again rejected Telekom Serbia’s claim that the media reporting constituted unfair competition.
Telekom Serbia sought to halt reporting about itself through broad demands and an excessively high claimed damage amount, attempting to influence the editorial policies of independent media. The ongoing pursuit of such unfounded lawsuits only increases the costs Telekom Serbia will eventually have to bear, UM noted.
The recent Serbian court ruling, along with a similar Swiss court decision rejecting Telekom Serbia’s claims, highlights that these legal actions represent an attempt by Telekom to misuse legal processes.
UM views the continued pursuit of these evidently unfounded cases as a form of targeted pressure against independent media. United Media’s media outlets will continue to report on matters of public importance with professionalism and objectivity, undeterred by Telekom Serbia’s baseless lawsuits.
