TorrentFreak

New Zealand’s Copyright Tribunal has handed down its first penalty to an Internet subscriber accused of downloading and sharing music without permission. While the case is a victory for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, the details make it a rather hollow one. All attempts by the music industry group to extract large punitive damages failed due to an almost complete lack of evidence.

Another file-sharing case brought before New Zealand’s Copyright Tribunal by the major record labels has been withdrawn at the 11th hour after it was discovered that none of the”strikes” had been properly delivered to the account holder. As yet again rightsholders and ISPs delay the implementation of a similar scheme in the United States, they will seek to avoid the 100% failure rate in contested cases set by their Kiwi counterparts.

RIANZ, New Zealand’s answer to the RIAA, have withdrawn their case against an individual they said should have been punished under the country’s “3 strikes” anti-filesharing regime. The decision follows a procedure beset by problems, including delivery of erroneous infringement notices and a claim for financial punishments that was not only unsupported by the law, but appears to have been reached via guesswork on the part of rightsholders.

New Zealand rightsholders have come under fire for failing to fully utilize the so-called “three strikes” mechanism after they sent out less than 3,000 notices to alleged pirates in a year. However, it’s now been revealed that eight individuals are now just one step away from the most serious punishments available, just six shy of the French total after they sent out a massive 1.1 million warnings.

Following the introduction of new legislation last September which would see alleged Kiwi file-sharers monitored, warned, and eventually punished for their infringements, the first so-called ’3rd strike’ has been issued. The ‘enforcement’ notice was delivered on behalf of the music industry but even after more than 6 months, their movie industry counterparts are yet to send even one initial warning.

The proposed anti-filesharing legislation in New Zealand has got more than its fair share of press recently but unfortunately for the music industry, most of it has been bad. However, the head of New Zealand’s answer to the RIAA says everyone has it wrong, insisting Section 92A is a “reasonable” response.