Sweden convicts first file-sharer

Sweden's Appellate Court fined 45-year old Jimmy Sjostrom $2,843 - 20,000 Swedish crowns - for a mere four songs, costing him 5,000 crowns per song. "Illegal file-sharing is thus expensive when there are legal and cheap alternatives available over the Internet today," declared the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in a statement.

While the fine is being considered a massive success by the IFPI, Swedish pro-pirate group the Pirate Party reckons that it's given them the upper hand: "The verdict confirms that the penalty for file-sharing in Sweden today is a fine," quoth the group.

According to the Pirate Party, the fine-only verdict will make finding other offenders tough for the Swedes as the police will only be able to access internet records for a crime that carries a jail sentence. "They are obligated to uphold their customer's right to anonymity" claimed the Pirate Party.

That said, the move is likely to be a successful deterrent for dissuading casual would-be downloaders as the price is steep. Regular p2p'ers however, will likely continue. µ

L'INQ
Reuters