IFPI Loses Another P2P ‘Wireless Defense’ Case
Written by enigmax on October 07, 2008A man accused of being a music pirate has been cleared by a Danish court. The man denied the claims of the IFPI, based on his assertion that someone else must have accessed his wireless router to commit the infringements. This is the second major defeat for the IFPI in Denmark over the so-called ‘wireless defense’.
The music industry anti-piracy lobby IFPI has taken a severe beating in Denmark recently. In September the major Danish ISPs issued a joint statement rejecting the IFPI’s demands for a ‘3 strikes’ agreement aimed at ultimately disconnecting alleged pirates from the Internet, labeling it as a “contravention of the law”. However, the defeats don’t end there.
The IFPI also accused two Danish women of being Internet pirates, after they claimed to have monitored illicit file-sharing activities on an IP address registered to one of them. The IFPI demanded $62,000 in compensation from the pair, stating that even if their Wi-Fi had been used without their knowledge, they are ultimately responsible for what happens on their Internet connection. Eventually a court ruled in favor of the women and acquitted them of all charges, much to the displeasure of the IFPI.
Now, the IFPI has suffered another defeat, again in a ‘wireless defense’ case. Previously, a middle-aged man from Randers, Denmark, was found guilty of Internet piracy in a case brought by the IFPI on behalf of music copyright holders. The man was ordered to pay compensation of around $11,000 and told to delete the infringing files from his computer. The defendant denied that he had done any of the alleged infringing and claimed that he operated an unencrypted wireless network which anyone could access.
However, in the Vestre Landsret, one of Denmark’s higher courts, the decision of the Municipal Court in Randers has been reversed, according to a Comon.dk report.
The court found that the IFPI held no proof that the IP address owner – the defendant – was the same person that carried out the infringements. This fact – that an IP address does not positively identify an infringer – is the same worldwide.
The lawyer for the defense, Per Overbeck, who also successfully defended the two women who won their ‘wireless defense’ case in another of Denmark’s higher courts, noted a difference in the cases, but one which didn’t affect the outcome for the defendants:
“The two women who were acquitted by the Østre Landsret, were in a household with multiple computers, so more people in the household had access to them,” he said. “The man in Randers was living alone in his apartment and had only one computer, but his apartment is in a complex so in principle many others can access his Internet connection.”
Although IFPI lawyer Torben Steffenson has yet to comment on the ruling, he is expected to say that the IFPI does not accept the decision of the High Court, and that they will take the case to the Supreme Court in order to win the case.
That is unlikely to change the fact that in these cases the burden of proof is with the plaintiff.
Previously: Michael Moore on Slacker Uprising’s Piracy ‘Problem’
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35 Responses
lol
Of course they would not accept the decision, they would never admit that they are wrong, even if they are wrong. It’s not in their interest to act for the purpose of truth or justice, they act only in their own interest. Hopefully there can be more decisions like this in the future.
Roze
http://www.28chan.org/fs/ <- file-sharing discussion board
Let’s see what happens at the Supreme Court level.
International Federation of Pirate Interests
Told ya. This is literally what my ISP told me to say years back when I got a complaint, say someone cracked your wifi.
It’s so simply it works. Keep in mind, most ISPs that supply you with a router also mention in your contract that you are liable for anything anyone does on said network. Yet, if you secured it, and it was cracked, it’s not exactly your fault.
Don’t tell them it was unsecured, but tell them it was hacked. They can’t prove you are lying, and it gives you an out.
You don’t have to prove you are innocent, you merely have to prove there’s a possibility.
it seems so bad that such a tactic is needed to get out of these charges.
@6
Indeed, people should stop trying to get around the law, and directly challenge the law itself. Band together with other people, and confront the law directly – that is the way to do it.
Roze
Did anyone even notice the amount these sons of bitches wanted?
$62,000!
$11,000!
For 99c songs!!!!!!
Torben Steffenson, go back to licking dirty monkey balls and leave us alone, its lawyers like you who give lawyers in general a bad name.
http://www.eZee.se
Has this worked as a defense in the states?
Pwnt loser.
Change the copyright laws or be destroyed, 2 choices, your 3rd choice isnt working.
We win, you loose, again and again and again.
We will download.
You will not stop us.
Surely that only works until somebody checks your computer and finds a few Gigabytes of infringing material…..what then?
That damn hacker must have put them there?
what will taking it to the supreme court do for them?
why should anyone have to police their wireless connection 24/7?
o ya thats right a $62,000 cash grab from reaaal criminals.
@11
A hacker once filled my computer with videos of Pamela Anderssen pole dancing..
Not only was that Intellectual Property stolen from me (god knows how they got inside my brain) and put into a movie, they had to rub it in and make me a copyright infringer of my own intellectual creations..
What? What do you mean a bunch of porn got on my computer? Thats rediculous! I would never download all 400 seasons of horse pounding! A hacker must of put that on there..
yep.. a hacker. damn.
tpb just hit 17 million peers oO
first time?
If someone sniffed your credit card number over your wireless connection and then racked up a $62,000 bill would you be forced to pay your credit card company? I don’t think so. The same applies here.
IFPI ordered the man to pay 62.000 danish krones. That is only 12.000 dollars.
I don’t expect the IFPI to accept that they’re wrong, because truth be told they’re probably right, at least according to the law.
I just don’t give a fuck most of these copyright laws suck anyway, I want to see them lose because they’re pricks anyway.
Once you get the letter you back up your stuff onto portable hard drives and hide it somewhere. Wipe your drives multiple times and hide the externals. I don’t think they have the right to seize your computer anyway.
subnetting FTW.
Externals + clean wipes + wifi + secret underground hiding spot you dug in your closet when your house was getting built = ultra FTW
Or you can just come and live in Australia where the department of justice has told these clowns they will not prosecute single individuals over alleged copy right infringement.
Wireless Routers – they are like garlic for anti pirates.
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@Guss – Piratgruppen.org
Only 12,000 dollars?
You must be one reallll rich person to say *only* 12k U$D for 99c songs.
And since you are so rich perhaps i can ask you to contribute/donate 25% of that towards eZee.se?
Would be much-o appreciated!
I have a computer and a laptop. All my dirty work is on my laptop. My router/cable modem is on wep NOT wpa for personal reasons. WEP is so fuckign easy to crack its not funny… I WIN for life bitches!
Commodity = Ip = User
one day people will be traded on the foreign exchange.
@17,
Its not danish krones anymore, Denmark uses euros now, it has for several years
@28
Im am danish, and we dont use euros now, and we never have.
owned
Ha Ha ha, good for him. To heck with the stupid loser MPAA and RIAA idiots.
http://www.anonymity.at.tc
Surely that only works until somebody checks your computer and finds a few Gigabytes of infringing material…..what then?
That damn hacker must have put them there?
http://www.torrentfly.org
We need to start taking personal revenge against the lawyers.
They are the Mercenaries of the Copyright Nazis
I view the RIAA snooping unto what I do online as an invasion to my personal privacy.
How?
Start making invasions of privacy against the lawyers.
Start using government records to find where the live; follow them home if you must.
Find their home addresses; get their home phone numbers; learn what kind of vehicles they drive and their plate numbers.
Use this information against them.
Send a message THROUGH CYBERSPACE.
“These profiteering gluttons SUE CHILDREN AND GRANDMA’S”
HERE is THEIR HOME ADDRESS
Go fsck with them. Use Grass Killer to make a giant swastika and copyright symbol on their lawn
HERE is THE CAR THEY DRIVE
Go SLASH their tires. Key their cars. Put cement in their gas tank.
Make it clear to the RIAA AND their Greedy lapdogs; we WILL make personal attack those who wage Ridiculous lawsuits against who don’t want to pay for something that could be free.
The Time Is Right To Make Them Fear Us. Let’s Make An Example Of THEM.
After All THEY Can Easily Afford to Buy a New Car; With All That Stolen Money They Took From Grandma.
Theres still a problem. IFPI has the right in Denmark to invade a privat home and confiscate what ever they can find, without warning their targets… Their press attache has allready stated that it will be the next step in the war against pirates, since they cant be sure they will be able to gather enough evidences against copyrights infrigents with ISPs proves only. “And it will be more expensive for the defendant if he/she is found guilty” he said… Dark clouds over Denmark…
We should take this to the next level. I propose the “brainless defense”. It goes like this: “Huh?”
Let’s see how this is gonna work out!
Any innocent person can fall victim to downloading. It’s addictive like a drug; once you do it once you can’t stop. We all know it’s illegal and bad to download songs, we just can’t stop. I doubt a lawsuit would even stop some people. It’s just like drugs; you know they’re bad but you can’t stop once you start. Our society is afflicted great greed and selfishness. This selfishness is very destructive and as we see costs millions every year. I am very saddened to see this.
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