Victory for copyright in Sweden

Stockholm, 12th June 2007

The Court of Appeal in Sweden has today upheld a 20,000 kroner fine imposed on a 45-year-old man from Borås by his local District Court for illegally distributing music on the internet.

The Court of Appeal upheld the fine imposed on the man for uploading four copyright-infringing tracks using the DirectConnect file-sharing network.

“This is a victory for copyright and we are, naturally, pleased that there was a guilty verdict. Copyright is the foundation of the whole music industry. If the industry is to continue to thrive, clear and effective copyright enforcement is vital”, said Ludvig Werner, chairman of IFPI Sweden.

“The sentence related to only four songs and the fine imposed of SEK 20,000 (US$2,831) means that it cost the perpetrator SEK 5,000 (US$708) per song. In addition, the injured party has the opportunity to seek damages”, Ludvig Werner continued. “It is clearly an expensive business to share files illegally, when there are legal and affordable alternatives on the internet today.”

IFPI will continue to report individuals to the police if they have been in breach of copyright through file-sharing on the internet.

“Illegal file-sharing has caused the industry serious damage. We see the verdict as a deterrent and we hope it will encourage people to look for the legal alternatives that are now available on the internet”, said Lisa Cronstedt, information and market manager at IFPI Sweden.