Unauthorised uploading and downloading are illegal in Italy - statement of clarification by IFPI

February 2nd, 2007

Unauthorised uploading and downloading of copyrighted music remains illegal in Italy, contrary to inaccurate press reporting of a recent court judgement in Rome.

The country's foremost criminal court (Corte di Cassazione) earlier this month acquitted two former students on the grounds that it was not a crime to download computer files from a computer (ftp) network if there was no financial gain.

The judgement has been widely misinterpreted as indicating that unauthorised uploading and downloading on file-sharing networks are now legal in Italy.

In fact, however, the court ruling was made on a case brought in 1999 under copyright legislation that has since been updated. The law changed when Italy implemented the European Copyright Directive and the Urbani Decree in 2004.

Under the revised copyright law that is in force today, unauthorised uploading and downloading - contrary to the inaccurate press reports - are illegal. Unauthorised downloading is subject to a fine, while unauthorised uploading is a criminal offence.