Jason Silver

Wednesday, May 25th, 2005

France Frees Fileswappers

A judge in France released a number of imprisoned fileswappers, suspending their sentences:

"We are in the process of creating a cultural rupture between a younger generation that uses the technologies that companies and societies have made available, such as the iPod, file download software, peer-to-peer networks, etc.," Judge Dominique Barella told Wired News...

"It is similar to the sociological consequences of the Prohibition period in the U.S. (during the 1920s). Certain laws can have unexpected consequences on society."

Instead, criminal proceedings should be geared more toward prosecuting large-scale counterfeiting rings instead of going after "a young person who fills up his or her iPod."...

...France isn't alone in creating legal headaches for the entertainment industry's copyright enforcement efforts. A Canadian appeals court last week upheld a decision from a lower court finding that internet service providers in the country are not required to divulge the identity of accused fileswappers.

I've been saying for years that copyright law needs to be redefined, even though I produce unique material which I wish to profit from. I'm curious to see how this will evolve. The conviction and punishment of "grandmas" and "junior high students" because they're downloading music has always seemed inappropriate to me. How will other countries and judges respond to France?

Exciting!

~Jason