French court rules in favor of private P2P use

heystoopid used our news submit to tell us "Oh well, in this short article over at arstechnica, the judge likened digital files on the P2P network is identical to the use of a photocopier in any public library, free to use for all comers! It seems the protagonists involved, after losing the case for the sale of new audio Cd's carrying DRM, were extremely upset and indicated they will be appealing this case, whilst debate on the possibility of a new user pay levee copyright substitute tax on Internet connection debate is now raging in the French parliament!

Looks like French Connection is now in for a lively time, and with the possible passage of the new style tax levee control law, it would appear to make any appeal irrelevant in this case. So it would seem these copyright protection mob, are more interested in running up very large legal fees to deduct from the copyright audio artists (whom is stealing from who? would be the question?) The article provides a link with the judgment in French (PDF) together with a student version in English as well ) The times they are a changing!"

At issue was the fate of a young man ("Antoine G") charged with uploading and downloading over 1,200 audio files whose copyrights were represented by a French recording industry organization, the Société de Civile de Producteurs Phonographique. After a victory in a lower court, the SCPP had to represent its case to the district court of Paris (Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris), seeking a final judgment against the man accused of the non-authorized reproduction and distribution of commercial content. The defendant had been an avid user of Kazaa, and during 2004, his activities were monitored by agents of the SCPP, revealing him to be a frequent user of the P2P network. He allegedly had almost 1900 files containing copyrighted materials.

What is interesting too, is that the defense is being led by French students! They are known as the Association of Audionautes, which is a not-for-profit organization. The organization was founded as a way to counter the copyright infringement claims coming from the music industry. The Association of Audionautes produced the English PDF press release in celebration of their victory. These young (presumably) people should be commended for using legal means to fight for what they believe is right. In the long run, whether they win or lose, we must be proud that they are able to take on such difficult legal matters. We should also take note of this one victory and understand that it is still possible to have your voice be heard, at least in this country. Here is their stance on the latest decision: "This most recent decision is consistent with the definitive decision of the French Appellate Court of Montpellier. It is an important stepping stone in our fight to legalize P2P," said Jean-Baptiste Soufron, Legal Counsel of the ADA.

Source: ArsTechnica