In Spain, a new intellectual properly law has been written into law that bans the use of unauthorised file sharing networks and also makes it a civil offence to even download content using P2P even for personal use. This over turns a previous circular from a chief prosecutor that allowed such downloads strictly for personal use. It is not clear at this time if this means a complete outright ban on non-approved P2P services including non-infringing usage or just the illegal downloading of copyrighted works from P2P networks.
Anyone caught downloading content illegally made available online will face having to pay the copyright holders for loses caused by their downloading. To help improve enforcement, the government requires ISPs to reveal suspect activity. The law also makes it a criminal offence for ISPs to even facilitate unauthorised file sharing.
Finally, to help compensate artists for illegal copying, the law has introduced levies on blank media, mobile phones and flash drives, which will be distributed to copyright holders. However, no levies have been applied to hard drives or ADSL connections. Thanks to RTV71 for letting us know about the following news:
|
But the government is going after Internet service providers; it's a criminal offense for ISPs to facilitate unauthorized downloading. The law also introduces a small tax to be levied on all blank media --- from a blank CD to mobile phones and even a memory stick. Computer hard disks and ADSL lines have been left out of the legislation despite their widespread use for illegally copying music and films. The money collected will be paid back to the owner of the copyright. |
As this new law now makes it illegal for Spanish ISPs to facilitate file sharing, it will be interesting to see if this means that they will be forced into filtering such traffic to avoid legal action. However, it is not clear how the entertainment industry expects to start targeting a bulk of downloder's if the music labels such as the RIAA in other countries are struggling to just tackle the major uploader's.
Feel free to discuss and find out more about file sharing and its legal issues on our P2P forum.
Source: TMCnet News
Next: Swedish P2P insurer will pay your fines if RIAA sues: $19/year! 
Previous: FBI busts camcorder pirates responsible for 50% of all bootlegs
It seems like the copyright holders have got their way in Spain. Maybe it's a knee-jerk reaction to losing to France in the World Cup
We've heard that nonsense before, in regard to taxes on CD/DVD media which are used for backing up data, not for duplicating copyrighted works. It's right up there with computer stores being punished for not bundling Windows with a new PC purchase when the owner has no intention of installing that particular OS.
Let's see 'em enforce the no-P2P law, riiight!
