Italian High Court: Downloading Not Illegal If Not Intended For Profit

It isn’t a crime to download music, movies or software if the user doesn’t gain financially, the Italian Supreme Court ruled earlier this month. Nevertheless, analysts are unsure whether the ruling will affect the country’s copyright law, the AP reported Monday. The court’s decision overturns earlier convictions against two former Turin Polytechnic Institute students who set up a P2P network in 1994 that was shut down later that year. They were initially found guilty of illegal duplication and given a one-year sentence, which was reduced to three months on appeal. The decision effectively overturns that previous conviction. An analyst quoted by the AP said the decision clarifies copyright infringement as cracking copyright files and distributing it for commercial purposes. Services that charge access or connectivity fees would therefore be covered. Still, as Variety points out, the ruling comes at a tough time for Italian authorities, who continue to struggle against film and music piracy from organized crime groups and individuals. The government passed one of Europe’s toughest copyright laws in 2003, allowing for stiff fines for commercial pirates and individual downloaders. But, critics concede, the law is rarely enforced.

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