(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)
On 5 September 2008, a Danish court decided that two woman that had been taken to court for illegally sharing music by Antipiratgruppen, anti-piracy affiliates, were innocent. The two women claimed they had not been the authors of the infringement, having been subject to WiFi theft.
Antipiratgruppen had sent letters to the two women who had P2P software on their computers, claiming the women had illegally downloaded copyrighted music and asking for compensations up to about 21 000 and 23 000 euro respectively. The women stated clearly that they were not the ones having done the downloading, claiming their Wi-Fi had been piggybacked by unknown persons. Being unaware of the alleged infringements, they believed they shouldn't pay any damages.
The music industry considers that an Internet subscriber is responsible for what others do on their connection, and the women were supposed to prove that they had not shared music with others. However, the court had a different opinion and acquitted the women of the charges. An IP address identifies only the owner of the Internet access and is not enough to identify the author of an action. The plaintiff is the one who needs to prove his allegations.
"It is an unusually clear and precise judgement. It is the plaintiff, who has the burden of proof. Many who have received letters with claims have been given the impression that they were required to pay. But we now have the court's word for that, they do not (have to pay). It is not enough to say that you are guilty of piracy due to owning a particular Internet access point" said Per Overbeck, the lawyer of the two women.
"We do not believe that this law is appropriate and we disagree with the Eastern Regional High Court's decision" said Torben Steffensen, Antipiratgruppen's lawyer who added "There should be a law that protects artists from losing income due to piracy. Therefore we would like to have the Supreme Court dealing with the issue".
However, Overbeck doubts that the case will get to the Supreme Court. "First City Court and now the High Court have taken a position, and things can only end by the Supreme Court, if OK'ed by people high in the Danish legal system. I can not imagine that this will occur. The courts have both followed standard law procedure. It is now the plaintiff, who has the burden of proof. If it is not lifted, they (i.e. the music industry) have lost the case" said the lawyer.
This is not the only case as recently, there was a similar decision in Germany, where a court has decided that the owner of an Internet connection is not responsible for copyright infringements carried out without his knowledge on the open WiFi.
Danish File-Sharers Not Responsible For Wi-Fi Theft (7.09.2008)
http://torrentfreak.com/danish-file-sharers-not-responsible-for-wi-fi-...
The Danish P2P users not responsible for the pirating of their WiFi network
(only in French, 8.09.2008)
http://www.numerama.com/magazine/10586-Les-P2Pistes-danois-non-respons...
A huge legal system defeat for IFPI, Denmark, could create a precedent in
Europe (9.09.2008)
http://www.aom3.org/forum/f5/huge-legal-system-defeat-ifpi-denmark-cou...
Victims of WiFi Theft Not Responsible For Illegal Uploads (9.07.2008)
http://torrentfreak.com/victims-of-wifi-theft-not-responsible-for-ille...