According to this report, the high court of Italy ruled that downloading (copyrighted) files - be it software, music, or movies - is not illegal if profit is not the motivation. The case in question was a lawsuit against two students who set up a p2p file-sharing network, and who were initially sentenced to one year in prison. But the highest judicial institution in Italy overthrew the decision, and set the two students free.
This is an important decision, because RIAA’s brainwash is lately succeeding in pushing the notion that p2p file sharing is a criminal activity per se. It’s good to hear that judicial bodies in some countries understand that listening to a song on the radio, sharing a mix-tape with a friend, and sharing files on a p2p network - if not for financial gain - do not automatically make you a criminal.
Unfortunately, despite this small victory, this is still an uphill battle in Italy. SIAE (Italian Assocication of Authors - think of it as the Italian RIAA) issued a statement in which it pointed out that within current legislation, which entered into force after this case, file-sharing (even if not for profit) is illegal.
In any case, this might be a good time to remember my old list of all the countries in which P2P sharing can most definitely cost you money, and possibly even your freedom.
Well, at least it’s a step in the right direction.
What really infuriates me is that the RIAA needs to understand that their industry is dying, and instead of spending their money trying to put the file-swappers in jail, use it to bring music fully into the digital sector.
Instead of whining about dwindling sales (which may or may not be true), do the best to take advantage of the internet’s massively accessible market.
All jokes aside this is the way it should be. So you have 80GB of downloaded content on your hard disk? Do you actually have any time to watch it? Equating this with murder and drug dealing is a no go for the digital age. Just make them delete everything. If it’s for profit, then charge them. If they distribute it over the network, keep them away from computers and the internet for a couple months (this will hurt them more than any fine).
The point I’m always trying to get accross is this: P2P content sharing is exactly the same as copying your favorite audio tape and giving it to your friend. The fact that it’s done on a much broader scale does not make it intrinsically evil.
It’s an uphill battle that I’m sure we’ll win. No-one can fight technology forever.
Thats some good news but there is a bit of ambiguity here… profit is not necessarily financial.. it can be barter system like u share this song and i share that one ..or u can argue that there is a implicit moral code of any p2p network is to share what u download.. under such circumstances is it wise to state that there is no profit?no monetary profit certainly but what about data and information ?
i wonder what convinced them to one year in prison.
I don’t understand why people insist on the high-risk activity of downloading when they can just share media like CDs between friends. Your downloading should be limited to content that you cannot obtain any other way.
The point here is that the processing refers to a “crime” that has been made before the introduction of the so-called “Decreto Urbani” (Urbani’s law), which says that you are liable for piracy even without profitability.
The point of discussion, before the introduction of such a law, was about profit: was the simple savings caused but the non-buying of something a profit? This time, the judge said no.
I believe it is also legal to download copyrighted files in Japan.
It is not legal to distribute copyrighted files without permission though.
This makes filesharing systems fairly suspect… but just plain leeching OK?
Gotta love it.
@everyone: sorry about the “convinced” lapsus calami. My fingers were faster than my brain.
warning: isn’t true for the new italian legislation.
@Miketrevis: yes, it’s written at the end of the article. I just couldn’t cram all the relevant info into the title.
As stated by Miketrevis this isn’t true for the new legislation
Elaine, you are just to funny. Don’t ever loose your sense of humor.
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