TorrentFreak

Since early February there have been nine raids against file-sharers across Sweden. Those in the spotlight were targeted because they shared relatively large amounts of music on small file-sharing networks. But were these people really a major threat to the music industry or are the millions sharing on BitTorrent proving too hard a target?

After the IFPI and several movie studios lost their case to force ISP Telenor to block The Pirate Bay, they appealed the decision on the basis the lower court had ruled incorrectly. In yet another blow to the entertainment industry in their battle to force ISPs to take responsibility for their users, the Court of Appeal has rejected the request.

Following investigations carried out by the IFPI, police carried out several raids across Sweden yesterday, targeting individuals sharing thousands of music tracks via Direct Connect. The alleged operator of the hub was arrested while others admitted to copyright infringement offenses.

In 2008, Baidu was sued for around $9 million by Sony BMG, Universal Music and Warner Music for providing so-called “deep-links” to copyright music tracks. A court has now ruled that providing search results does not breach copyright law, clearing China’s biggest search engine of wrong-doing.

Once again the music industry has come out with disappointing results for physical music sales, which they blame entirely on file-sharing. What they failed to mention though, is that their findings show that music pirates are buying more digital music than the average music consumer. Since digital music is the future, pirates are the industry’s most valuable customers.

Alan Ellis, the ex-admin of the OiNK BitTorrent tracker, was cleared of Conspiracy to Defraud by jury of his peers last week. But now it seems that as one battle ends, another begins. IFPI says it is considering civil action, and is committed to reclaiming the money donated to the site in order to give it back to the artists.

After more than six years of loyal service, at the end of this month IFPI Denmark will lose their director and spokesman, Jesper Bay. The anti-piracy veteran says that after many copyright battles, it’s time to move on to other ventures. He insists, however, he hasn’t had a better offer of employment from the pirates.