BREIN vs ShareConnector Appeal Report

It’s starting to sound repetitive but here is a brief report of the the civil appeal from last wednesday, 25th November 2009 in Amsterdam. The courts decision is on 12th January 2010. First of all, you can read what happened in the first case back in 2008 and why I went for the appeal.

The appeal was with 3 judges instead of one, as first assumed. BREIN tried to convince the judges that it’s copyright infringement and a social improper act or however they call it. As my lawyer clearly pointed out, BREIN is not the society and does not represent it. BREIN is a private organization that got established and funded by the entertainment-industry, to solely protect their profits. In request of some Dutch ministries an independent report called “Ups & Downs: economische en culturele gevolgen van filesharing van muziek, films en games” was made with basically the same conclusion we read in numerous other reports, being that filesharing users are the biggest customers.

Despite these reports the judges have recently assumed and ruled that indexing is illegal, while it’s not even filesharing. I absolutely don’t see the logic where downloading illegal files in Dutch law is allowed, while just indexing is seen as illegal. I hope they will come to their senses because forbidding indexing sites will not increase sales or decrease filesharing.

Filesharing can only be countered with alternatives that offer the same diversity or more for a fair price and I don’t see that happening any time soon. Sharing can surely coexist with alternative services, driving innovation and helping others remembering that adapting to consumer needs definitely pays off. Welcome to the information era, the 21st century.

Related posts:

1. DoJ confirms the appeal for ShareConnector
2. DoJ Appeal Report Day 1
3. MiniNova considers BREIN appeal
4. The DoJ Appeal Against ShareConnector Begins

Tags: appeal, brein, ciivl, copyright, filesharing, report, ShareConnector