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Spanish Court Dismisses Non Profit Music File sharing Case
A recent article indicates that a Spanish court has dismissed a case against a man accused of downloading music from the Internet and then offering the music to others via email and chat rooms, thereby violating Spain’s copyright laws. While the state prosecutor’s office and two music distribution associations in Spain had argued for a two-year prison sentence, the judge in the case observed that there was no profit-motive behind such acts and therefore a penal sanction was not warranted. Specifically, the judge characterized music file-sharing as a socially accepted and widely practiced behaviour, and was concerned that a guilty verdict would imply that music file-sharing for private, non-profit purposes was a crime. The article indicated that the case was likely to be appealed.
For a copy of the article, visit:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/15913265.htm