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GeSomeone
Full Story
some quotes
QUOTE
Britain joins Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Italy in ratifying the legislation whose deadline for adoption passed ten months ago. It remains in limbo in the other nine member states, legal experts following the directive told Reuters on Friday.
tigre
Moved from GeSomeone's original post to save space on forum portal page:
QUOTE
The UK has adopted what many consider to be Europe's toughest digital copyright law, seeking to protect a media industry that exports many of its works to overseas audiences.
QUOTE
"The law on the provision of P2P services was ambiguous before and it remains ambiguous," Struan Robertson said. "But those using the services in this country are facing a new threat."

A spokesman for the UK Patent Office said the law is not designed to imprison or fine individual file-sharers.

"This law is aimed at the most dangerous activity, the organised crime gangs with warehouses of pirated materials," said UK Patent Office spokesman, Jeremy Philpott. "It is not meant to bring criminal charges to individual downloaders."

He added individual downloaders would still be subject to civil penalties, which would include injunctions and or a demand of payment for damages. They would not be hit with prison term or fines, he said.
simonh
Thanks Gesomeone.

Here is the law that has been passed:

link

in force from the 31st October 2003
simonh
Only a matter of time before we see RIAA style mass prosecutions here in UK.

Quote:

New criminal offences
26. - (1) Section 107 shall be amended as follows -

(a) after subsection (2) there shall be inserted -

" (2A) A person who infringes copyright in a work by communicating the work to the public -

(a) in the course of a business, or

(B) otherwise than in the course of a business to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright,

commits an offence if he knows or has reason to believe that, by doing so, he is infringing copyright in that work.";

(B) after subsection (4) there shall be inserted -

" (4A) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2A) is liable -

(a) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;

(B) on conviction on indictment to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both."

EDIT : Removed accidental smilies
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