James Delahunty
12 Jun 2007 17:03
The Court of Appeal in Sweden has today upheld a 20,000 kroner fine imposed on a 45-year-old man from Borås by his local District Court for distributing music (uploading while using P2P) on the internet. The man had originally been fined for uploading four copyrighted music tracks without permission using DirectConnect P2P software.
"This is a victory for copyright and we are, naturally, pleased that there was a guilty verdict. Copyright is the foundation of the whole music industry. If the industry is to continue to thrive, clear and effective copyright enforcement is vital", said Ludvig Werner, chairman of IFPI Sweden.
He continued: "The sentence related to only four songs and the fine imposed of SEK 20,000 (US$2,831) means that it cost the perpetrator SEK 5,000 (US$708) per song. In addition, the injured party has the opportunity to seek damages. It is clearly an expensive business to share files illegally, when there are legal and affordable alternatives on the internet today."
Source:
Press Release