Is it Time To Make File-Sharing a Criminal Offense?
Written by enigmax on September 12, 2008All the media reports about cracking down on file-sharers in the UK are starting to annoy me. I’m sick of hearing about Topware, their 2nd rate pinball game and their hired-gun lawyers. This needs sorting out, once and for all. Is it time to make file-sharing a police issue in future, one for the criminal courts?
If the UK government suddenly announced that it was bringing in legislation to criminalize personal-use non-profit file-sharing, there would probably be an uproar, probably supported by me. The thought of a petty file-sharer up in a criminal court facing a magistrate or judge seems outrageous.
However, the thought of Miss Isabella Barwinska picking up a £16,000 bill from the civil courts recently for sharing one £10 game is outrageous too, but maybe even more so. Miss Barwinska didn’t turn up or defend her case, no-one seems to know why, but for a lot of people facing similar actions, the prospect of facing a legal system they don’t understand and can’t afford to participate in, financial issues are at the forefront of doing nothing about the threatening letters.
These people simply cannot defend themselves and this is why it might make sense to criminalize personal-use file-sharing. In a criminal case if you can’t afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you by the state and you get the benefit of proper justice at least, a right of reply within a proper structure, not grubby threatening letters designed to wear people down.
I’ll let you into a little secret. When people say file-sharing is “as bad as shoplifting”, in the UK that comparison is pretty ridiculous. Many shoplifters are let off with a simple caution and even the most persistent would have to be uniquely unlucky to get fined £6,000 (plus £10,000 costs) for a £10 game. If Miss Barwinska had been caught physically stealing it, a police caution would be likely, or perhaps a very small fine. In the ‘real-world’ she’d need to smash through the storefront with a truck to end up with a fine the size of the one she got.
The other reason why there might be benefits in bringing file-sharing out of the civil domain and into the criminal is because even fairly large-scale commercial piracy on and off the Internet is treated with extreme leniency in the UK.
Last week we reported that the UK’s Hull city council said it had such a massive piracy problem at its biggest market in Walton Street, it had to ban legitimate traders too in order to stamp it out. Well, it seems that a part of this ‘problem’ was one Robert Guiness.
Mr Guiness had been using the Internet to download movies, music and computer games which he then burned onto DVD and CD and sold them at Walton Street market. When the police searched his van and raided his house, they found over 10,000 pirate movies, more than 600 audio CDs, a couple of hundred DVDs filled with MP3s and 283 computer games. He was a commercial pirate and his long-term considered actions certainly contrast nicely with Miss Barwinska’s civil tort involving a £10 game uploaded for one second.
So, taking Miss Barwinska’s punishment as a guide, presumably Mr Guiness should enjoy a minimum fine of 283 games at £6,000 each? Plus the movies and music. Oh boy, Mr Guiness would be in some big kind of trouble if Davenport Lyons had got to him first. Luckily for him, he got arrested by the police instead and had the good fortune of having a criminal trial.
Due to the “exceptional circumstances” in the case (”i’m but a small cog in a big machine guv’nor”), he was given a suspended sentence and walked out of the court a free man. No fine.
Just to be clear, I don’t really want file-sharing criminalized and I certainly don’t want the UK courts jammed full of petty file-sharing cases. For their part, the police don’t even have time to come to household burglaries or car thefts, so we could never waste their time on non-profit file-sharing issues. However, I wonder how many of the UK’s ‘pinball pirates’ would wish they could be labeled a criminal in order to be excused a massive fine, picking up a criminal record in the process but walking away a free person instead? Desperate people will do desperate things – people have committed suicide over smaller debts than this. No-one in financial difficulty should ever have to aspire to criminal status in order to mount a defense, or aspire to a criminal conviction like that of Mr Guiness, in order to be treated with leniency.
But hold on just one moment. What about the OiNK users that are currently the subject of police criminal action for uploading ONE album each. Has petty file-sharing already become a criminal offense? The Crown Prosecution Service seems to think so.
In a country like Britain, which prides itself on its sense of justice and fairness, it can’t be right to have such a huge imbalance in the legal system, where an ordinary single mother of two making a single mistake is treated more harshly than a for-profit criminal like Mr Guiness. Equally, how can one set of file-sharers be the subject of a simple ISP ‘warning letter‘, another pick up a £16,000 bill and others get hauled off to the police station for interrogation, fingerprinting, DNA sampling and subsequent trial, for the same offenses?
It’s crystal clear – to the man in the street the legal system to deal with file-sharing right now in the UK seems just about as clear as mud and maybe, just maybe, it’s time for the government to step and decide once and for all. Should file-sharers be warned, bankrupted or jailed? Don’t forget Mr Brown, there are an estimated 6 million of them. Choose wisely.
Previously: Study Says Intellectual Property System Should Die
Next: Pirate Bay Boycotts Press after Public Witch-Hunt
50 Responses
To sum it up in one quick sentance, as we have known for a long time… “the UK justice system is FUCKED up”.
No new news there.
very good article!
It’s time to make a crap game and sue the downloaders! Make more money from sueing people.
I do…
Is it a nice one …
You get off more lightly if you are a terrorist. Ok, I’m off to blow up the BPI headquarters.
I also think the UK court system is fucked up.. Just two months ago i was at the old bailly as a juror and i had to sentence someone for Actual bodily harm, Grievous bodily harm or attempted murder. In the end he got GHB and the attemped murder. This would be fine if i was actually sure he was guilty. Unfortunately their wasn’t enough evidence for me to be sure.. how can someone be sent down just because it looks like their guilty?
excellent article. If only national news sources took their heads out of the industry’s ass and printed something half as insightful we might make some progress.
Keep up these high quality comment type articles please – but just remember to label them as blog entries or comment pieces so as to keep them separate from TFs usual relatively impartial articles, thus avoiding potential attempts to discredit the site’s journalism.
Honestly, a great article.
I support file-sharing but I do have one thing to say. I understand why smaller companies like TopWare are suing, they are barely making money and piracy can make them bankrupt, but what I can’t understand is big companies sueing that is plain greed.
And the great white north ….strong and free…OF BILL c-61
ohhhhhh canada we stand on guard for thee.
p.s. bet them riaa/mpaa types is goin ape shite they could not get the bill they wanted here so they punish the usa
If file-sharing is going to be considered an offence, it should be treated like fixed penalty tickets for driving offences. There are many similarities. Both often use highly automated evidence collection mechanisms for large numbers of ‘offenders’. For both, the evidence collection and processing should be up to a criminal standard. Any technical error in collection or processing should invalidate a ‘ticket’. Similarly, there’s the question of whether the ‘offender’ is the registered keeper/broadband subscriber or a third party.
If it can be established, with certainty, who committed the ‘offence’, an appropriate fine can then be imposed. If Miss Barwinska did indeed share Dream Pinball, and it wasn’t someone else using her computer or an open wireless connection on her broadband router, she could have been fined, say, £100. If she is, as was reported, an unemployed single mother, she could then have been allowed to pay it at £5 per week. The punishment would fit the offence. Miss Barwinska would be financially affected to the extent that she would be likely to consider not sharing files in future, without literally bankrupting her.
There is one flaw in both my idea and yours. Bringing something into the criminal domain doesn’t automatically stop it also being a civil matter. It’s not uncommon for shops to have signs that state that, as well as insuring shoplifters are prosecuted, the shop will also sue them. There’s nothing to stop rights holders suing Mr Guiness.
Hey enigmax,u from England??
“people have committed suicide over smaller debts than this” does the UK allow legal suicide? I think Germany does – extradite all cases of file sharing to Germany?
If you get off more lightly for being a terrorist, perhaps it might do good to smash windows and commit arson against the BPI.
“Has petty file-sharing already become a criminal offense? The Crown Prosecution Service seems to think so.”
Well, as far as I know, the one album the six OiNK uploaders shared was a pre-release CD. THAT is punishable under criminal law in the UK, whereas sharing something that is already available is not.
If OiNK had disallowed the sharing of pre-release music, then the BPI would have not been able to involve the police and there would not have been any problem.
“There is one flaw in both my idea and yours. Bringing something into the criminal domain doesn’t automatically stop it also being a civil matter. It’s not uncommon for shops to have signs that state that, as well as insuring shoplifters are prosecuted, the shop will also sue them. There’s nothing to stop rights holders suing Mr Guiness.”
Your right there. Also I’m pretty sure if someone is found not guilty in a criminal case they can still be sued in a civil trial and have a different outcome.
RIAA and MPAA have just been discovered to be terrorist working in the USA. They are involved in a conspiracy to over take the government and turn its citizens into slaves.
Start the raids…
you can’t stop us,
there will always be sharing
Also bigger fine for downloading to hard drive than burning and selling on the streets? WTF
/// Yankee
anybody caught file sharing will be shoot
anybody caught using a computer will be declared a terrorist and shot
anybody detected to hold own thoughts for longer than 2.4 seconds will be shot
anybody complaining about anything will be shot
suiciders will be reanimated and than shot
– For Your Comfort and Safety INC.
please p0rk, point us to this pre-release law, i’ve never heard of it!!!
Support a artist. Kill a pirate.
The other thing is that it needs far less evidence in a civil court to be considered guilty. Actually you more or less have to prove that you’re innocent. That’s really f*u*c*k*e*d up because it makes it damn easy to destroy someone’s existence. It also makes the copyright industry worse hypocrites than they already are because what they do is far worse than what they are accusing the file-shares off. The copyright industry might be losing by file-sharing or it may even boost their sales in the long run. That’s anything but clear. But if they sue and screw someone, he’s done for.
A conviction in a criminal case would also leave a record making it difficult to ever find a well-paid job again.
They need a similar system to that of New Zealand where it is very hard for people to claim compensation.
“A conviction in a criminal case would also leave a record making it difficult to ever find a well-paid job again.”
oh boo hoo! need a tissue to dry those tears? why should anyone care about a pirate’s future lack of a good job when they’ve worked so hard to ruin other people’s careers?
WTF???
yah lets make it a crime to share
ya lets make it a crime to NOT BE GREEDY
then when all the people are in jail we can have the economy really go poof
and you artists think its bad now, when absolutely no one is left to buy anyhting and your label takes it all
your going to get tossed into jail to for not making htem antoher mountain of cash
and to those that wish i spell better fuck you, want to make sure that someone else can read it perfect do ya , if you cant figure out what i say then you are not supposed ot be here are you , damn spies.
heres what we all should do
save cash and sue these bastards for mispreresentation
sue them for slander
sue them for harrassment
sue them for hacking/break and enter
sue artists for aiding and abetting the above.
wonder if a million lawsuits and coutner actions would tell the fuckheads to bugger off
F U C K UK ! ! !
@14 Sep 12, 2008 at 16:30 by p0rk
What is this pre-release music legislation in the UK? I’d love to know more about this since my understanding is that there isn’t any.
But if you can correct me and add to my knowledge of this issue i’d be very happy about that!
cheers :)
I thought in the US , they were already in starting down this road. The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, although not making copyright infringement a criminal offence lets the Department of Justice litigate civil infringement suits on behalf of IP owners.
This act was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee very recently and although not law yet could be very shortly.
You file sharers are sick people. Just how are these hard working CEOs supposed to complete their diamond toilet seat collection without all your hard earned money? We need people arrested for not handing over their precious earnings to those who are set for life!
the Family Entertainment Copyright Act covers pre-release piracy in th USA, both movies and music but interestingly, no other media.
Personally making file sharing a criminal offense is retarded. If they did this not only would the economy go down worse then it already is but they’d be putting funds into catching file-sharers which is time and money. They could use this time to get people off the streets and fight the drug war. Also, a lot of ISPs and hosting firms are going to lose big time money. This is just dumb. Sharing is how it should be…however, people that sell warez should be dealt with that’s a different story.
how would curbing pirates thievery hurt the economy?
perhaps because best buy would have a shortfall of geek squad employees?
you guys are idiots.
My thoughts exactly Enigmax
It is another part of that ACTA that hasn’t quite been leaked YET.
@33 and Enigmax
REVOLT! Burn cd’s! Leave them lying around for everyone! This will bring these bastards to their knees!
@32
because the majority of these supposed pirates are not geek squad employees but your every day joe schmoe. WHy don’t you take a look at the current lawsuits out there. These suits don’t discriminate.
Oh and piss off a$s-clown.
ITS HIGH TIMETHIS FUCKING MESS IS SORTED OUT.. How much longer can these companies take people to court for sharing something. UTUBE has more copyright content than anyone else on the net, yet they get away with it….
UTUBE SHOULD BE CLOSED DOWN before they pick on private individuals. utube lets more copyright material thro its pages than any file sharer
Maybe try driving on the right side of the road that a nice start LOL
@Enigmax
What I mean to say is that the sharing of pre-release music falls under the “Conspiracy to Defraud the Music Industry” offence, due to this being a very general offence.
(Unfortunately, this is part of *criminal law* with an unlimited fine and up to 14 years imprisonment.)
Had no pre-released music been shared on OiNK, it would have been almost impossible to prosecute OiNK’s users/Alan with this charge. Most likely, the BPI would have had no grounds to involve the police and shut down OiNK.
The monetary angle also worsens the case, but that’s a whole new story…
Excellent article, I think you have covered some very interesting and valid points.
well done!
Something needs to be done and soon!
Before things get out of hand.
@8 Middle Point
Ignorant comment my man, do your research on a certain Dirk P Hassinger, he’s a German ex Jailbird who came up with this scam.
He is the CEO of Topware, he is responsible for 1,000’s of file sharers being threatened all over Europe, he is closely linked to Logistep the IP address providers to Davenport Lyons, Logistep have been discredited all over Europe and the UK is now their happy hunting ground.
Topware I believe is quite happy to see one of its second rate games released onto the file sharing scene so they can go and persecute people they accuse of downloading their 3rd rate products!
Fantastic post, congrats to writer.
Lets defeat these game companies who are threatening people,
DO NOT BUY GAMES FROM THEM!
Boycott Topwear, Atari Codemasters etc..
NEVER BUY FROM THEM!
Spread the word to all you know!
Loss of sales through pirates is nothin compared to loss of sales due to angry customers!
Good post.
I might add that file-sharing is such a technologically advanced concept that those middle-aged legislator men and women in grey suits don’t know how to approach it due to lack of understanding. They do know what a rip-off DvD looks like on a dodgy market corner though.
(Sorry for the extreme generalization and stereotyping of middle-aged people and people who own grey suits.)
Davenport Lyons are planning on sending out another few thousand letters similar to the previous ones. The more people they try to sue, the more uproar will be created and action will be taken – especially if they happen to sue a solicitor who is vengeful by nature.
I’m pretty sure the Dream Pinball legal threats were entrapment. The rest of the games were cashing in on the success of the Pinball suings.
THE WORLD NEEDS TO SHARE
a couple of years ago, pirates where openly selling pirated software at Hull fair and what did Hull City Council do about it, nothing.
I know because it was me who reported it to them as I found it strange that obvious criminals seem to be able to do as they want and yet traded since then not only at Hull Fair but also the Walton Street market in Hull.
It sucks – but it’s because the UK, just like Sweden, is basically owned and run by the USA big corp. Bastards. You complete set of bastards, you!
Seriously, I’m hopefully awaiting the day some enterprising US lawyer clues in and starts a class-action lawsuit against the MAFIAA under the RICO (Racketeering-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute.
They’ve got them dead to rights for obstruction of justice and racketeering, the combination of which triggers triple damages – not to mention jail time. Or does no one else notice the parallels between “Pay me $1000 “protection money” or I’ll force you to close your store” and “Pay me $1000 using the info I misused the federal courts to subpoena or I sue you for $100000 with a meritless claim”?
@47
The US seems to be everyone’s scapegoat atm. Remember that the reason these big companies are the ones causing the uproar with us because the majority of the pirated material comes from them. Look at the top 100 torrents on TPB. Most of that is made or produced by US Companies. Im not trying to give them a break with how they are handling things but I think this “blame the us” bullshit has to stop.
Great read and spot on!
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