Mythbusting
Slyck has a post on the myths surrounding filesharing
Myth: 16,000 people have been sued for filesharing
Facts: No they haven’t. The actual figure is around a handful
* The number of people who have actually been sued for filesharing by the recording industry amounts to little more than a handful
* None of these cases have actually been defended on the basis of filesharing, but on the basis of fair use, dismissal because it was someone else, etc.
* A letter demanding settlement does not amount to a lawsuit, or being “sued ”
Myth: Filesharing is illegal
Facts: No it isn’t illegal inasmuch that it does not constitute a criminal act
* If you are caught and if the matter is pursued, it is a civil matter between you and the recording industry and you could be sued.
* You cannot be arrested, searched, fined or imprisoned for filesharing. The recording industries do not have state support, they cannot simply search property at will or seize your possessions, they are private companies with no more rights than private individuals.
Myth: The recording industry always wins
Facts: No they don’t
* Over 75% of the people receiving demands for settlement in the 2 years ended September 2005 neither settled nor were taken to court
* No cases contested on the basis of filesharing have yet been heard by a judge
Myth: The risks of being caught filesharing are very high
Facts: They are not
* The risks of receiving a demand for settlement are 1 in around 4,000
* The risk of receiving a demand for settlement and then actually having to do so are around 1 in 17,000
* The risks of being taken to court for filesharing are around 1 in 12M
* Nobody has ever received a demand for settlement or been sued for downloading only. The risk of being the first to face such an action are in therefore the order of 1 in 60M
* More than 95% of those caught filesharing have been caught using Fastrack clients such as Kazaa
