Sweden one step closer to anti-filesharing law
Sweden’s Council on Legislation (Lagrådet) has indicated it has no significant reservations over a law which would make it easier to hunt individuals suspected of illegal filesharing over the internet.
The proposed law is set to go into effect in April 2009.
The government wants to give copyright holders, such as film and music companies, the ability to request information from internet service providers about individual users tied to IP addresses through which copyrighted material has been downloaded.
Although the proposed law is based on an EU directive, the Council on Legislation says in its consultation statement that Sweden's draft regulation goes further than required by the directive.
According to Sweden’s proposal, copyright holders would be allowed to get a court order requesting the release of information about certain IP addresses if there is probable cause that someone has broken copyright laws.
This information could then be used to launch legal proceedings in which copyright holders could seek damages or simply point out that person has broken the law.
The EU directive, however, only says that people should have the right to access information in connection with a trial.
Comments
See Also
The proposed law is set to go into effect in April 2009.
The government wants to give copyright holders, such as film and music companies, the ability to request information from internet service providers about individual users tied to IP addresses through which copyrighted material has been downloaded.
Although the proposed law is based on an EU directive, the Council on Legislation says in its consultation statement that Sweden's draft regulation goes further than required by the directive.
According to Sweden’s proposal, copyright holders would be allowed to get a court order requesting the release of information about certain IP addresses if there is probable cause that someone has broken copyright laws.
This information could then be used to launch legal proceedings in which copyright holders could seek damages or simply point out that person has broken the law.
The EU directive, however, only says that people should have the right to access information in connection with a trial.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.