Jail time for German downloaders

Submitted by CodeWarrior

The "law to regulate copyright in the information society" as it is called, makes it illegal to reproduce copy-protected or bootlegged CDs and DVDs in Germany. It is seen as an another "tool" in the fight against Internet and software copyright infringement and is meant, in particular, to prevent people from downloading music or films from Internet file-sharing networks.

German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries warned that whether it was commercial, private, free or against payment, those who "offered or spread music, films or computer games as a download on the Internet without being authorized to do so, were liable to punishment."

The minister added that with the advent of the digital age, it had become necessary to extend the realm of copyright protection and intellectual property to the Internet. The judge further warned that the cracking or violation of copyright procedures and codes would be pursued with penalties and imprisonment if it "wasn’t exclusively meant for the personal use of the accused" or close family and friends. The new legislation has been welcomed by the music industry.

The German Music Publishers’ Association said the amendment would finally spell an end to the long wait for copyright protection and said it expected that "the illegal copying of music would now be pursued seriously." The organization also stressed last month that "enormous economic damage that the music branch has suffered from intellectual theft over the years" could be fought more effectively and added that now everyone should know that there was no legal Internet exchange.

The Scorpions, the most successful German band on the international stage, have also taken a stand on Internet exchanges. "As a band, the Scorpions, who've been together for thirty years now, have never suffered that much from this phenomenon," band member Matthias Jabs told Deutsche Welle recently.

"But we do have a natural interest in seeing a fair relationship between artists producing the music and customers purchasing it. In whatever form. As long as people are actually paying." But the Scorpions said they were concerned that the music industry was losing sight of its customers. They said that CDs were becoming too expensive and that because of this, it was more attractive for people to download from the Internet at no charge. "Record companies need to create new structures so as not to lose customers," Rudolf Schenker, another band member said. "Some kind of compromise must be reached to enable people to download music at any time. We have to get closer to our fans and communicate more quickly with them and respond to trends more quickly."

This move shows us that, just as many of us have been predicting, this issue is heading toward more draconian measures to bring a criminalization of downloaders and uploaders, and the push to get law enforcement involved.

Rather than the laws becoming more understanding of national and international trends toward sampling of songs via P2P networks as a generally accepted practice, this movement in Germany indicates that both the European powers that be, and their counterparts here in the United States, are becoming more unreasonable in this matter.

As for the Scorpions, I saw them in concert here in the US this year. I like the Scorpions music, and as they point out, they've been around for thirty years. They were ONLY able to be around that long because of a loyal customer base. People who do not LIKE the Scorpions, people who are not FANS of the Scorpions, do not download their music. Therefore, if the Scorpions were to have the German government, go after these people downloading on their behalf, they will be going after people who have enabled them to live in a lifetstyle to which they have become accustomed, and THAT is unacceptable. They SHOULD be concerned in maintaining a health relationship with customers / fans, as should ANY rock group or any performer. Ultimately those groups who go after the people who made them rich and famous, will end up looking old, haggard, and broke. And, if you bite the hand that fed you, that is what SHOULD happen.

[Go HERE for New Copyright Law Gets Tough on Music Pirates: No more free bootlegs from the Internet. - Ed]