Italian Public Prosecutor Says File-Sharing Site Is 'Receiving Stolen Goods'

from the copying-is-not-theft dept

Fri, Dec 7th 2012 9:33am — Glyn Moody

Sites that share unauthorized copies of various kinds of digital files are hardly news, and neither are attempts to shut them down. But a recent case in Italy breaks fresh ground here:

The Milan public prosecutor has ordered the seizure of assets of the Avaxhome "digital newsstand", a portal for "sharing" newspapers, books, comics and music DVDs. The claim of receiving stolen goods against the site was validated by the investigating magistrate in Milan after a complaint by Italian publishing group Mondadori in June. The website is based in Russia, and Italian ISPs have now blocked access to the site.

Since the site is based in Russia, seizing its assets might prove tricky. But what makes this decision important is the fact that the public prosecutor in Milan has gone beyond finding that the site infringes on copyright, and deemed it to be "receiving stolen goods" -- a far more serious charge.

As Fulvio Sarzana, the author of the blog post quoted above and lawyer for the Italian ISP association, explains (original in Italian):

"This seizure is a serious problem because for the first time in Italy and in the world putting copies of articles on the Web is considered to be receiving stolen property and not only infringement of copyright." According to the lawyer, "the risk is that from now on anyone whoever puts copies of articles on the Web will see their site closed and be on the receiving end of a charge that equates this case to that of a car thief."

Sarzana says that the Italian ISP association will appeal, so it's not certain that this dangerous equivalence will stand. But it's a worrying prospect that copyright infringement might be routinely equated to theft in this way, since the two are completely different for reasons that have been discussed many times here on Techdirt.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: copyright, italy, stolen goods

35 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 9:42am

This is what the maximalists have been working towards, and it looks like the prosecutor has fallen for their propaganda.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
crade (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 9:49am

Soon STEALING someone's hairdo will be grand larceny too :)
They are "property (tm)" afterall you know.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That One Guy (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 9:53am

So if those files count as 'stolen property' I assume the prosecutors are able to show the empty shelves/computer folders that used to contain the DVDs/CDs/Books/mp3s, and are now empty.

No? Those items/files are all still where they were before, even after having been copied and shared? Not exactly 'stealing' then is it.

Infringement, sure. Stealing? Not so much.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nathan F (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 9:56am

So.. does this mean that since these files are property, and are being seized for the duration of the investigation and trial, that the original owners of the copyright can't make use of the original product? Again, I will bring up the fact that if they are going to insist on treating these things as a physical property I look forward to the day the government seizes said goods under eminent domain and releases it to the public.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 9:58am

fucking Italians! couldn't tell the difference between their arse and their elbow! how the hell is any physical item comparable or confused with a digital item??
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Michael, 7 Dec 2012 @ 9:58am

I wonder if they are going to ask Germany to help them march into Russia to seize this property.

Protip: Wait until Spring this time.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

out_of_the_blue, 7 Dec 2012 @ 10:01am

Gee, is there NO way to avoid this risk?
"the risk is that from now on anyone whoever puts copies of articles on the Web will see their site closed and be on the receiving end of a charge that equates this case to that of a car thief."

Or are we all doomed to be charged with theft? ... OH, WAIT! I've got it! Just DON'T INFRINGE COPYRIGHT!

Problem solved. Next re-write.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
crade (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 10:06am

Re: Gee, is there NO way to avoid this risk?
1) No one said avoid the risk was impossible
2) I'm sayin it now anyway. Under current regs, being sure you are not infringing copyright is impossible. Yes, even if you live as a hermit.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 10:18am

But what makes this decision important is the fact that the public prosecutor in Milan has gone beyond finding that the site infringes on copyright, and deemed it to be "receiving stolen goods" -- a far more serious charge.

Seems right...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Glen, 7 Dec 2012 @ 10:21am

Par for the course.
Of course these are the same people that convicted scientist for not accurately predicting earthquakes.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Baldaur Regis (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 10:53am

What can he do?
This is one man - an investigating magistrate in Milan - making an assertion. Does this suddenly turn a digital file into a physical good? No. This shows a man of some small power exhibiting his profound ignorance of technology, and the consequences of that ignorance.

If the Milan public prosecutor really wants to try out this novel legal theory (and not just do it to a Russian for the theater of it) I'm sure there are digital thieves in Milan. Raid THEM, and try to take these 'stolen goods' in hand.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 10:59am

Sometimes I feel that judges and lawyers all over the world are becoming to start to look like fringe characters of society(e.g. climate change deniers, lizard people believers, doomsday sayers, etc), they do things that no one can understand let alone accept.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 11:00am

Re: Gee, is there NO way to avoid this risk?
First off, you're an idiot.

"OH, WAIT! I've got it! Just DON'T INFRINGE COPYRIGHT!"

See, the problem with that is people infringe on copyright every day. Most unknowingly. The majority of which do so both unknowingly and innocently. Like reposting a picture they saw online or something like that.

So yeah, there really is NO way to avoid the risk. Also, what you fail to realize is that we now have a court INCORRECTLY conflating the act of making a digital copy with the actual act of theft, which actually involves physically depriving someone of something. The difference between making a copy and depriving someone is huge and should not be ignored just because one doesn't approve of the former.

But as I said, you're an idiot. Like I said before, stop posting your brand of stupidity. From now on, just save us all time and write, "TL;DCTR. You're wrong." TL;DCTR standing for "too long, didn't care to read", since that's your usual modus operandi.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 11:00am

If this does not get overturned then what is to stop Hollywood from getting congress to write this in the US law and with that effect every site that they object too would be seized and shutdown (without due process of law).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Aaron Wolf (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 11:07am

Re: Gee, is there NO way to avoid this risk?
@out_of_the_blue:

By your logic if they next say that copyright infringement is murder (you know, it threatens someone's income which is what they need to survive, so that makes it life-threatening, so you're killing them), and your reply: "well, if you don't want to be charged with murder, just DON'T INFRINGE COPYRIGHT!"

Now, in case you don't get it, I'm using something called reductio ad absurdem. I'm not saying you actually would think this. I'm saying that your argument is equally logical as this absurd example, and I sure hope you aren't so insane that you think even this absurd example is reasonable. Cheers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 11:10am

Re:
Plus the site operator going to jail for receiving stolen goods.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
gorehound (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 11:17am

Re: Par for the course.
And Italy home to the Joke Pope and Vatican.Site of one of the largest oldest Hate Groups in the World.

There are tons of great Italians and great people of Italian Descent.Lots of other great stuff in Italy.

Government is pretty Corrupted ! Then again there is not much of a difference here in Washington or in a bunch of other Nation's Governments.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
crade (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 11:21am

Re:
Thats the worst of it imho.. The way things are going we (we being everyone) seem to be ending up with basically the most controlling decisions and laws from anywhere eventually being pushed for and taking precendence everywhere.

We already can't sing happy birthday to our kids, but it's going to get way worse before it gets better..
On the flip side, if things get worse fast enough, people notice. The mafiaa needs to maintain the boiling frog effect, if they turn up the heat too much the people will wake up and jump out.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 11:45am

Re: Par for the course.
Yeah, that was exactly what I thought of too. Italy is unfortunately close to a developing nation when it comes to democracy. The 1990's Clean Hand and the newer reports showing up to 9% of Italys GDP being mafia traffic makes for quite a dystopian governance. I know most italians hate it too, but almost all politicians in Italy are seen as corrupt. At the same time the courts are hated and seen as biased in many cases and the way Berlusconi has run cycles around them...

I think Italy is in huge beep. They cannot kill 9% of their GDP. That is far out in TBTF! Sure, they are doing ok in bringing down dept and they are doing ok economically, but just like France, they have severe fundamental problems in the economy and this desperate definition is just another brick in the wall.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Old Fool (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 11:57am

Any rewards?
If a file is stolen property, do I get the usual 10% return fee from the insurance company upon returning it?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 12:23pm

Re: Re: Gee, is there NO way to avoid this risk?
This. Oh, and even if you are incredibly careful never to infringe, you can still be accused. We've all seen too often that to be accused of infringement is the same as being convicted.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 12:28pm

Re: Re: Re: Gee, is there NO way to avoid this risk?
This. (Thanks for the add about "still be accused".) Because it's true, accusations of infringement actually happen on a regular basis, and the "evidence gathering" techniques are pretty much as shoddy as you can get without randomly just pointing a finger at someone and screaming "Pirate!" (Which sadly to say almost seems to be what is done.)

And also DOUBLE THIS regarding the mere accusation of infringement being tantamount to a conviction. We already have six strikes programs being discussed and considered for mass deployment, six strikes for which no proof is provided against you merely an accusation, which you are then FORCED to pay just to be given the CHANCE to defend yourself and say "nuh uh". Or else, bye bye internet connection.

That's a pretty scary/sad state of affairs. But people like Idiot up above would have you think that an accusation of infringement is the equivalent of actual theft and should be punished equally, if not more severely.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 1:07pm

Re: Par for the course.
It's time scientists stop claiming to know things they do not.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 1:33pm

Turn this back on the news sites.
The news sites want to protect what they put on the net so the ISPs should protect them from anyone stealing their news stories by blocking all access to the news sites. That way no one can steal any of their news and put it online somewhere else, but the downside being no one will be able to access the news site either.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Fenderson (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 2:04pm

Re: Re: Par for the course.
I have yet to hear a scientist claim to know something they do not, and I've worked with a LOT of scientists.

However, nearly every media report I've ever read about what scientists say have falsely reported scientists claiming things they never claimed at all.

The problem is not with the scientists, it's with the media.

Disclaimer: Every group of people has it's frauds and loonies, of course, and scientists are no different. This is, in part, why you go with group consensus rather than a single scientist's findings. On the whole it's impossible to find a more reliable source of facts than those form the scientific community.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 2:28pm

Re: Re: Re: Par for the course.
Here's just one example of many. Science has a real problem with credibility. I predict their will more scientists convicted before science begins to clean up their house.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/07/epic-fraud-how-to-succeed-in-science-without-doing- any/
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 2:56pm

Re: Re: Gee, is there NO way to avoid this risk?
Especially as the content industry consider link to copyrighted material to be infringing.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
silverscarcat (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 3:24pm

Question!
If copyrighted materials are now actual property, can I get insurance on all the files on my computer?

That way, if I have to delete them, I can collect insurance.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Fenderson (profile), 7 Dec 2012 @ 3:46pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Par for the course.
Ah yes, a single example of fraud that was caught by fellow scientists.

There are a number of such examples, and almost every single one of them were caught by the scientific community. The examples of fraud are a miniscule percentage of the whole, as well.

As I said, every group has bad apples. What gives credibility to the group is what happens when the bad apples are discovered. Scientists expose them and ignore their results from then on.

I literally cannot think of how the community could behave that would be more credible. As to house-cleaning, the house is extremely clean. Not spotless (nothing is perfect), but the house cleaning is constant and ongoing.

But in any case, your original comment wasn't about fraud, it was about scientists claiming to know things that they don't know. Scientists are extremely careful to avoid doing this, to a fault.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 4:19pm

obviously this pr1ck has been paid for
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 5:45pm

So does this mean id have grounds to sue third parties who have "stolen" my information, i.e. without consent

Third party being ANYONE other then me
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2012 @ 7:24pm

Assumption
Let's assume that even if the files are illegal...

Maybe we can charge any airport warehouse for "Receiving Stolen Goods" because some passengers transport the stolen items out through there? How does that make sense?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
btrussell (profile), 9 Dec 2012 @ 7:09pm

Re:
If I have a website that someone uploads infringing works to, how do I send it back to the rightful owner?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tim Griffiths (profile), 10 Dec 2012 @ 2:35am

Re: Gee, is there NO way to avoid this risk?
Or are we all doomed to be charged with tax evasion?... OH, WAIT! I've got it! Just DON'T ILLEGALLY PARK YOUR CAR!

Problem Solved.

Or not, given what you said is that if you don't want to be charged with doing something you legally have not done you should not break another law.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
cyber freedom fighter, 12 Dec 2012 @ 2:18pm

yeah called stealing
its real that those big headed guys in suits talking away our cybernetic freedom to do anything on a computer like first if a file sharing site threatens to lower a companies profit trust me they will twist the truth just to save themselves but the real thevies are they them!
[ link to this | view in thread ]