Swedish Anti-Download Law Does Entertainment Industry's Bidding
from the bad-news dept
The folks in the Swedish parliament have either lost their minds or had them replaced by those of entertainment executives. Word has it that the normally level-headed Swedes have incredibly just passed a law banning downloads of copyrighted material. In their attempt to curb illegal file sharing, though, they're going overboard in defining it. Technically, this would prohibit all web surfing -- as web browsers have to download (copyrighted) content that is being viewed. The law also tries to discourage copying CDs and DVDs by adding a new tax on them. Of course, this will only discourage buying them in the first place or legal copying for personal use. And lastly, the law bans technologies that circumvent protections on copyrighted materials -- which, like the DMCA, will only serve to encourage anti-competitive behavior. It all adds up to more unintended consequences.
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comment on new swedish law
It will only be illegal to download material which is not leagal in the first place (such as copy of a copy). Thus, downloading copyrighted materials is ok if it is a legit server or approved copy.
Fredrik, Stockholm, Sweden
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