Spain court orders an ISP to disconnect a user for P2P file sharing
For the first time in Spain, a court has ruled that an ISP must
disconnect one of its users for having shared P2P music files.
In a case brought to the court by Promusicae, an association of Spanish
music producers, against the Spanish ISP R Cable y Telecomunicaciones
Galicia, the Barcelona Court of Appeals has recently decided in favour
of the music industry group ordering the ISP to immediately and
permanently disconnect the Internet connection of a user who had
allegedly infringed copyright by sharing, without authorisation, P2P
music files.
The case had been dismissed in the first instance considering that the
user had not infringed the law as he had shared music with other private
individuals without any commercial purpose. Promusicae appealed and sued
the ISP as it could not identify the physical person behind the user’s
IP. Which raises not only questions regarding the efficiency of the
measures (the user can very easily go to a different ISP and get another
IP) but also more serious ones regarding the fact that the respective IP
may be shared by other innocent users as well. This means that the court
has not considered the proportionality, objectivity and
non-discriminatory character of the measure as required by the Spanish
Copyright Act. “Immediately” and “permanently” is a rather strong
decision. Let alone the fact that an order has been issued against a
user that was not involved in the court process, being actually unknown..
The ISP has not defended itself at all in court. However, on the 22
January 2014, it stated it could not comply with the decision, being
unable to identify his client based on his nickname. “The user uses the
nickname ‘nito75’. In R we cannot identify any client who is behind a
nickname as it is here the case”. Thus, the ISP considers it cannot
apply the court’s decision.
Five keys to the sentence to disconnecting a user having shared music on
P2P (only in Spanish, 20.01.2014)
http://www.internautas.org/html/8009.html
Spanish Court Orders an ISP to Disconnect a Copyright Infringer
(22.01.2014)
https://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2014/01/spanish-court-orders-isp-disconnect-copyright-infringer
R operator says it cannot disconnect a user who shares P2P archives
(only in Spanish, 22.01.2014)
http://www.libertaddigital.com/ciencia-tecnologia/internet/2014-01-22/la-operadora-r-dice-que-no-puede-desconectar-al-usuario-que-compartia-archivos-p2p-1276508925/