UK Court Orders File Swappers to Pay
The British record industry said it had scored a major victory against two file swappers in the country who were caught downloading from file sharing services. Each will be forced to pay several thousand pounds in restitution to the British Phonographic Institute immediately.
The case is the first of its kind in British court, and sets precedence for other court cases in the country involving file sharing to be decided in a similar manner. Until this case, the BPI had reached out-of-court settlements with people it caught downloading from P2P networks.
A postman from Brighton in the southern part of the country and a man from King's Lynn in East England were charged with violating the country's Copyrights and Patents Act. The BPI declined to release the identities of the two individuals, who were convicted earlier this month and in November of last year.
The postman has been ordered to pay 1,500 pounds or $2,660 USD, with a future judgment to decide a penalty for damages and costs. The King's Lynn man would be liable for an immediate payment of 5,000 pounds or $8,865 USD, and could face legal costs of 13,500 pounds or $23,940 USD as well as additional penalties for damages.
"We have long said that unauthorized file sharing is damaging the music industry and stealing the future of artists and the people who invest in them," BPI chairman Peter Jamieson said in a statement. "Here is clear confirmation of what we also said – that unauthorized file sharing is illegal.”
The actions are similar to those of the Recording Industry Association of America, which has sued thousands of file sharers for their activities. According to the music industry, more than 900 million illegal music files exist on the Internet.
A majority of the 139 cases the BPI has brought have been settled, with those accused paying up to 6,500 pounds ($11,530 USD) to avoid a court case.