With that background today’s news comes as somewhat of a surprise. The case involves a user known as nito75 who used his computer to share 5,100 tracks via hub-based file-sharing application Direct Connect.

With the assistance of anti-piracy monitors DtecNet, local music/anti-piracy group Promusicae tracked nito75 down to his ISP via his IP address, but beyond that the sharer remained unidentified.

In response, major recording labels Universal, Sony, Warner and EMI took legal action against R Cable y Telecomunicaciones Galicia, nito75′s ISP, in order to prevent further copyright infringement.

As a result, Commercial Court 6 of the Provincial Court of Barcelona has just handed down a first-of-its-kind decision against the ISP, which orders it to “immediately and permanently stop providing Internet access to the user ‘nito75′.”

In their decision the judges explain that placing copyrighted music tracks on a computer with the aim of allowing their distribution to others “is an act of [illegal] copying and communication” since only the music companies have the right to engage in the reproduction and public communication of their content.

In previous file-sharing cases Spanish courts have been interested in whether the alleged infringer carried out sharing for financial gain. No such proof was presented in this case.

The landmark judgment, which is the first ordering a Spanish ISP to disconnect a file-sharing customer, overturns an earlier decision which found that nito75 had not committed copyright infringement.

The personal circumstances of nito75 are unknown, but it is possible that his or her entire household will now be disconnected from the Internet, something which may yet be deemed excessive under European law.

The lawfirm which represented the labels has not yet responded to TorrentFreak’s request for comment.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Born in 1979, Soto had been in the computer business since he was 16 years old and had created several file-sharing applications including Blubster (the so-called “Spanish Napster”) Piolet and Manolito.

But the record companies claimed that Soto designed the software with the express intent of providing a platform for Internet users to download and share music for free, a situation they describe as “unfair competition.” Pablo was also accused of creating file-sharing applications in order to profit from infringements of the plaintiffs’ copyrights.

Following a 2009 trial and several years of litigation, Madrid Commercial Court No. 4 has now delivered its verdict. It rejected the compensation demands of the labels and ruled in favor of the developer, declaring that his technology is “totally neutral.”

“An analogy would be like if we created a private group of friends to share some information, photographs for example,” the judge wrote in his ruling. “But you can not then blame the developer [if people chose to share copyright material], since the only thing he has done is connect the friends.”

The court also rejected the claims of unfair competition, noting that Soto isn’t in the business of making and marketing records, and the plaintiffs aren’t in the file-sharing business.

“We are extremely grateful to the court for finding not only in our favor, but in favor of justice, innovation and in equal access to digital distribution,” said Pablo Soto, founder and CEO of MP2P Technologies. “The copyright conglomerates would like to stifle innovation but today’s significant ruling against this tactic echoes around the globe.”

In an interview with 20minutos.es, Soto extended thanks to his lawyers Javier de la Cueva and David Bravo and noted that although delighted with the outcome (“I feel like i’ve crossed the Gobi desert with no water”), both he and his company have been deeply affected by the litigation.

“I had a company with eight years of work behind it but following the lawsuit I had to reduce staff by more than a half,” said Soto. “The funding was reduced to zero, no-one wanted to invest in a company being sued for 13 million euros.”

Aside from the generalities of the complaint, the case has been controversial since the start. In preparation for filing suit the labels went as far as to hire a private detective who turned up at Pablo’s offices masquerading as a customer. Using a hidden camera the detective took photographic ‘evidence’ which later turned up in court filings.

Promusicae president Antonio Guisasola said the decision will be appealed and expressed hope that in future the new Spanish government would take “resolute action” against people like Soto.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

This lenient stance towards casual copyright infringement is about to change. The Spanish government is currently drafting amendments to current legislation in order to “to protect intellectual property against piracy on the Internet”.

Although individual file-sharers aren’t the current focus of the amendments, it is feared that further changes could be made in future to include them. However, what is certain is that sites that offer links to copyrighted material are almost certainly set to face an aggressive crackdown.

Spain’s Minister for Culture, Ángeles González-Sinde, announced that under the proposed legislation, such pirate sites could be taken offline without a judicial order.

It is no surprise that these announcements have been met with huge resistance from Internet users, who feel that once again their rights are being violated in order to meet the demands of the entertainment industry.

In a response to the Government’s proposals, hacktivists have defaced the website of Promusicae, a music industry body that has lobbied long and hard for more strict copyright laws in Spain.

The hackers have replaced the site’s content with a manifesto in which they call for a real reform of current copyright law, a limit placed on the power of the copyright cartels and the placement of Internet users’ rights above the commercial interests of copyright holders.

Below is the manifesto in full, as it appears on the defaced Promusicae website.

Manifesto on the rights of Internet users

A group of journalists, bloggers, professionals and creators want to express their firm opposition to the inclusion in a Draft Law of some changes to Spanish laws restricting the freedoms of expression, information and access to culture on the Internet. They also declare that:

1 .- Copyright should not be placed above citizens’ fundamental rights to privacy, security, presumption of innocence, effective judicial protection and freedom of expression.

2 .- Suspension of fundamental rights is and must remain an exclusive competence of judges. This blueprint, contrary to the provisions of Article 20.5 of the Spanish Constitution, places in the hands of the executive the power to keep Spanish citizens from accessing certain websites.

3 .- The proposed laws would create legal uncertainty across Spanish IT companies, damaging one of the few areas of development and future of our economy, hindering the creation of startups, introducing barriers to competition and slowing down its international projection.

4 .- The proposed laws threaten creativity and hinder cultural development. The Internet and new technologies have democratized the creation and publication of all types of content, which no longer depends on an old small industry but on multiple and different sources.

5 .- Authors, like all workers, are entitled to live out of their creative ideas, business models and activities linked to their creations. Trying to hold an obsolete industry with legislative changes is neither fair nor realistic. If their business model was based on controlling copies of any creation and this is not possible any more on the Internet, they should look for a new business model.

6 .- We believe that cultural industries need modern, effective, credible and affordable alternatives to survive. They also need to adapt to new social practices.

7 .- The Internet should be free and not have any interference from groups that seek to perpetuate obsolete business models and stop the free flow of human knowledge.

8 .- We ask the Government to guarantee net neutrality in Spain, as it will act as a framework in which a sustainable economy may develop.

9 .- We propose a real reform of intellectual property rights in order to ensure a society of knowledge, promote the public domain and limit abuses from copyright organizations.

10 .- In a democracy, laws and their amendments should only be adopted after a timely public debate and consultation with all involved parties. Legislative changes affecting fundamental rights can only be made in a Constitutional law.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

The coalition, headed by SGAE and Promusicae, took the now-common stance of demanding that ISPs implement a “3 strikes” strategy for alleged online pirates, but this was rightly dismissed by the ISPs. The rights holders then came back with a new demand to throttle alleged file-sharers instead. The ISPs refused this request too.

According to Canalejo, the other major reason why negotiations broke down was the failure of the content providers to provide an attractive legal alternative to illicit file-sharing. “Piracy is not a phenomenon that must be pursued and demonized,” he said, while branding the currently provided legal alternatives as “derisory”.

To reduce piracy, the ISPs made the suggestion to the Ministry of Industry that it should create a portal to offer music, movies and games.

“Content providers should have a more entrepreneurial approach. They are defending a traditional distribution model and we’re creating a new business,” said Canalejo.

Noting that any changes should come through awareness and education, Canalejo said that negotiations with rights holder could only resume when the government becomes open about its plans for measures against file-sharing, adding that any measures must “protect Internet users and give legal certainty to ISPs.”

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Kokott, top legal adviser to the European Union’s highest Court said that while it is a requirement for ISP’s to divulge personal details in criminal cases, the law does not have the power to force them to disclose the same in a civil case. In Europe, the personal, non-commerical sharing of copyright works is a civil issue.

The statement was issued to help judges come to a decision in the case involving Promusicae – a Spanish music industry organisation – and Telefonica, Spain’s biggest ISP. Promusicae sued Telefonica after they refused to reveal the identities of some of its customers who were accused of swapping copyright music using the file-sharing software, KaZaA. If it had been successful, Promusicae would have used the information to take legal action against those it accuses of sharing music to which it holds the rights.

Telefonica appears to have successfully argued that the law only required it to reveal the identities of those accused of a criminal offense and that sharing of music was a civil issue.

Juliane Kokott’s advice will be reviewed by the judges and a ruling will be issued later on in the year. According to a report, the judges ‘follow their advisers opinions about 80% of the time.’

Earlier this year, UK law firm Davenport Lyons successfully obtained the identities of hundreds of people it claimed had infringed its client’s copyrights by sharing the game Dream Pinball. It remains to be seen if today’s legal advice will affect those who have already had their details handed over.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.