In Spain a law has been passed that sanctions with a penalty of up to six years of imprisonment those who favor the exchange of illegal files also through the mere indication of a link.
It is true that the Spanish Penal Code foresees that such penalties are to be applied only in the case when profits are involved, and provided that the link in question is not an occasional link but instead there has been a choice and a selection aimed at favoring the illegal act. In any case, it surely represents a strong signal of the direction that wants to be taken.
The majors want to fight against piracy at any cost in a moment like this when the downloads are undergoing an exponential growth: only in Spain last year they increased of 41% .
We are speaking about a big number of accesses and downloaded files that want to be opposed by tightening the sanctions, but is it really a phenomenon that can be stopped? The respect of copyright is sacred but maybe a more satisfying and rewarding alternative solution for everyone could be thought of.
According to a study made by the Information Society Unit of Seville of the European Commission every cloud has a silver lining. Even if it is true that Italian and Spanish people seem to be the greatest illegal music downloaders, it has also been found out that to the increase of the 10% of the illegal downloads corresponds an increase of the 2% of the legal market sales.
Many years ago already other studies had highlighted how the illegal download phenomenon could hold interesting surprises and new market perspectives if studied and exploited adequately.
The old models cannot hold anymore and copyright has to find its new dimension. The tightening of the penalties is probably not the right choice, also because the community does not perceive the seriousness of the illegal act and therefore cannot bear the sanction.
Furthermore, what the majors complain about is that there are websites that from the links to illegal material draw a huge profit. A reflection on this profit could be much more advantageous than so much prison.