p2pnet - rss feed: Italian court says downloading OK
p2pnet.net News:- The music, movie and software cartels have suffered a major p2p defeat in Italy.
There, downloading music, movies and software isn’t a crime as long as it’s not for profit, an important criminal court has ruled.
Not surprisingly, the industries claim the decision doesn’t count for much.
“The Italian agency that monitors copyright issues, known by the acronym SIAE, said in a statement that the ruling did not bring any ‘revolutions’ in terms of author’s rights because the case predates current legislation calling for a fine for anyone who shares protected material over the Internet, even without financial gain,” says Associated Press.
Or as the Google translation of the SIAE post puts it, downloading, “does not constitute crime on condition that is absent the aim of lucro”.
The decision overturns earlier convictions against two former Turin Polytechnic Institute students who set up in 1994 a peer-to-peer, file-sharing network that was shut down within months, says AP, going on:
“They were found guilty of illegal duplication and given a one-year sentence, which was reduced to three months on appeal, defense lawyer Carlo Blengino said.”
Also See:
Associated Press - Muted reaction after Italian court says file-swapping is not illegal, January 22, 2007
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February 2nd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
UNAUTHORISED UPLOADING AND DOWNLOADING ARE ILLEGAL IN ITALY - STATEMENT OF CLARIFICATION BY IFPI
2nd February 2007 - Unauthorised uploading and downloading of copyrighted music remains illegal in Italy, contrary to inaccurate press reporting of a recent court judgment in Rome.
The country’s foremost criminal court (Corte di Cassazione) earlier this month acquitted two former students on the grounds that it was not a crime to download computer files from a computer (ftp) network if there was no financial gain.
The judgment has been widely misinterpreted as indicating that unauthorised uploading and downloading on file-sharing networks are now legal in Italy.
In fact, however, the court ruling was made on a case brought in 1999 under copyright legislation that has since been updated. The law changed when Italy implemented the European Copyright Directive and the Urbani Decree in 2004.
Under the revised copyright law that is in force today, unauthorised uploading and downloading - contrary to the inaccurate press reports - are illegal. Unauthorised downloading is subject to a fine, while unauthorised uploading is a criminal offence.