File Sharing And Torrent Websites Now Legal In Spain

[newbie2]

File sharing just became legal in Spain, changing the rules on what is legal, and what is fair.

In a court ruling that will surely shake the Spanish and European legal scene for years to come, a Spanish judge has today declared not only that sites containing links to copyrighted information are legal, but that torrenting copyrighted information for non-profit reasons is also inside of the law.

If you think that we are in some way confused, or kidding, here is a quote from the judge in question:

“P2P networks are mere conduits for the transmission of data between Internet users, and on this basis they do not infringe rights protected by Intellectual Property laws”

It is hard to confuse what that means. Provided that the sharer of the information is not profiting (garnering any revenues whatsoever), off of the transfer, then the action is legal now in Spain according to this new precedent.
http://thenextweb.com/eu/2010/03/15/file-sharing-torrenting-now-legal-spain/
:popcorn:

[Nickedynick]

Pretty big news! I'm assuming gaining a copy of an album, or movie which you don't already own is classed as 'profiting'...?

[cascade9]

Pretty big news! I'm assuming gaining a copy of an album, or movie which you don't already own is classed as 'profiting'...?

'Profiting' is selling copies of downloaded media. Its pretty clear from the quote that newbie2 put in, just downlaoding will not make you any money- "garnering any revenues". Its the same legal position as some of the south american countries as far as I know.

[newbie2]

Its the same legal position as some of the south american countries as far as I know.
In 'the Obama northern countries' there is 'other stuff' though : http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20000347-261.html
:rolleyes:

[Nickedynick]

'Profiting' is selling copies of downloaded media. Its pretty clear from the quote that newbie2 put in, just downlaoding will not make you any money- "garnering any revenues". Its the same legal position as some of the south american countries as far as I know.

I'm fairly sure in the UK that 'profiting' would cover downloads since it's a material profit. Just because there's no money directly involved doesn't mean there's no gain. However, you may be right. I can't see the big record labels, etc. complying with this though.


Also, doesn't this open up opportunities to use Spanish servers as proxies for technically legally downloading stuff? Not sure the EU would like that.

[Bachstelze]

http://law-ref.org/BERN/article9.html


(1) Authors of literary and artistic works protected by this Convention shall have the exclusive right of authorizing the reproduction of these works, in any manner or form.
(2) It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to permit the reproduction of such works in certain special cases, provided that such reproduction does not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author.

I really don't think P2P sharing can by any strech of the imagination be considered a special case. Therefore, this Spanish judge violated international law. Or hte article you link to makes unreasonable conclusions. Probably the latter. I don't see any mention of downloading copyrighted work in its quote of the judgment, just that P2P in itself is not illegal.

[Grenage]

“P2P networks are mere conduits for the transmission of data between Internet users, and on this basis they do not infringe rights protected by Intellectual Property laws”

I am struggling to see how this allows people to download copyright material for non-profit use; am I missing something?

To me, it just looks like a statement of the obvious: Torrents and other P2P networks are not 'illegal', they are just means of transferring data. It doesn't cover what is being transferred.

[lisati]

I am struggling to see how this allows people to download copyright material for non-profit use; am I missing something?

To me, it just looks like a statement of the obvious: Torrents and other P2P networks are not 'illegal', they are just means of transferring data. It doesn't cover what is being transferred.

Nicely said.

[El_Shrander]

File sharing just became legal in Spain, changing the rules on what is legal, and what is fair.

File sharing was never illegal in Spain, to start with. The mere act of 'sharing', be it files, books, clothes, or whatever, is not and can not be made illegal, however hard some interested parts may try.

What the OP's linked newsclip talks about, however, is not a kind of official condonement of Internet 'piracy' inside Spanish territory in any way. Not at all. The thing is: someone accused some other someone of profiting from intellectual larceny, due to him hosting some p2p links in his homesite, and a judge has determined the grounds for such accusations were nil. That's about it.

The LPI (Ley de Propieadad Intelectual, or 'Intellectual Property Act') is actually quite strict in Spain, to the point where just entering a copyshop with the wrong kind of book (namely, any which first page does not explicitly state that photocopying its contents is OK) can cost you -and the shop- some nifty fine.

An official announcement by the Spanish authorities with regards to 'online piracy' and copyright infringement is expected to come out later on this same year, and few Internauts believe it will be a reason for joy. Even though I haven't lived in Spain for some years now, I, for one, await such official word not without certain anxiety, since it will speak volumes about my homeland's take on such important issues as individual privacy (who is downloading what? And where?) and the installment of new legal boundaries.

For more information about the actual case that has generated this news and the current legal state of p2p downloads in Spain, I can only recommend reading the following articles (all of them in Spanish, I'am afraid): <http://www.elpais.com/buscar/p2p>

[Viva]

File sharing and torrent websites have always been legal. The problem starts when people share content they don't have any right to. It is not only unethical, but it also hurts the Free content providers.

[Nickedynick]

There was an interesting Panorama episode on the BBC last night (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rl4dl/Panorama_Are_the_Net_Police_Coming_for_You/) looking at the Digital Economy Bill, piracy, etc.

What keeps coming out, which the music industry seems to ignore, is that people who regularly download music illegally actually buy more music on average too. I know there are other industries, and this isn't really about that, but the example is a pretty strong case for illegal downloads. Especially considering companies like Adobe, who also benefit from illegal copies of Photoshop.

[rottentree]

http://law-ref.org/BERN/article9.html
I really don't think P2P sharing can by any strech of the imagination be considered a special case. Therefore, this Spanish judge violated international law. Or hte article you link to makes unreasonable conclusions. Probably the latter. I don't see any mention of downloading copyrighted work in its quote of the judgment, just that P2P in itself is not illegal.

Oh noes the international law! Run!

BTW I would like to see the original source too.

[dragos240]

This is indeed an interesting concept.

[javierrivera]

I really don't think P2P sharing can by any strech of the imagination be considered a special case.

In Spanish law, and in most continental Europe, private copying is one of this special cases. There is even a levy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_copying_levy) to cover it.

This is why it was so important that no monetary profit was made by any side. P2P is then just another way (nothing special) of making a private copy, totally legal within Spain (and Portugal, and France, and Germany,...).

It's not the first, nor likely the last sentence of this kind in Spain.

This situation is not useful to big torrent sites like *********, as they have a clear revenue (ads).

[handy]

The big media corporations, amongst other interested corpies want P2P to be made illegal, to protect their interests.

We all know that.

They are trying hard in Oz, but the public backlash may very well cause the internet censorship bill not to be implemented (fingers crossed) here at this time, by this government.

I cheer the Spanish court, for making the public statement that basically says P2P is not to blame. =D>

[Jarmen_Deffs]

File sharing just became legal in Spain, changing the rules on what is legal, and what is fair.

In a court ruling that will surely shake the Spanish and European legal scene for years to come, a Spanish judge has today declared not only that sites containing links to copyrighted information are legal, but that torrenting copyrighted information for non-profit reasons is also inside of the law.

If you think that we are in some way confused, or kidding, here is a quote from the judge in question:

“P2P networks are mere conduits for the transmission of data between Internet users, and on this basis they do not infringe rights protected by Intellectual Property laws”

It is hard to confuse what that means. Provided that the sharer of the information is not profiting (garnering any revenues whatsoever), off of the transfer, then the action is legal now in Spain according to this new precedent.Not exactly correct (the article you quote is to blame, not you): file sharing didn't just become legal, it always has been.

The judge came out with this because of (another) legal attack on P2P in Spain by the recording industry, and (as before) a judge ruled that there's nothing illegal about just linking to copyrighted content (ie bt tracking sites), or with file sharing software.
According to laws, most other countries should theoretically rule the same if challenged, but the courts of quite a few have misguidedly said otherwise.

Spain goes a step further and says (and have said since at least June 2009) that sharing copyrighted stuff for personal use is ok.
Which is nice, IMHO, but surprising, and not really in line with most of the world.



http://law-ref.org/BERN/article9.html
I really don't think P2P sharing can by any strech of the imagination be considered a special case. Therefore, this Spanish judge violated international law. Or hte article you link to makes unreasonable conclusions. Probably the latter. I don't see any mention of downloading copyrighted work in its quote of the judgment, just that P2P in itself is not illegal.
I think the point is that non-profit sharing for personal use is the special case, in Spain at least.
For info showing copyrighted sharing is ok in Spain see the two links below.


I am struggling to see how this allows people to download copyright material for non-profit use; am I missing something?
To me, it just looks like a statement of the obvious: Torrents and other P2P networks are not 'illegal', they are just means of transferring data. It doesn't cover what is being transferred.
Yes two different issues, but Spain has said sharing networks are legal AND sharing copyrighted material (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/03/13/navegante/1268472778.html) for personal use is legal. (http://torrentfreak.com/downloading-3322-movies-is-okay-in-spain-090529/)

[Vidayo]

The File Sharing And Torrent Websites do not hold copy right content. they are only the middle man.