BPI Win Landmark File Sharing Case

The BPI has today won a landmark court ruling in its battle to stop illegal online music sharing.

The High Court has ruled that two men must pay the BPI between £1500 and £5000 in compensation for making thousands of songs available online.

The men have not been named by the BPI but they’re a man from Kings Lynn a father of two from Brighton.

BPI chairman Peter Jamieson said, “The courts have spoken and their verdict is unequivocal: unauthorised filesharing is against the law.

“We have long said that unauthorised filesharing is damaging the music industry and stealing the future of artists and the people who invest in them. Here is clear confirmation of what we also said – that unauthorised filesharing is illegal.”

The BPI has launched 139 similar cases since October 2004 according to the BBC with most being settled out of court.

The court rejected the defendant from Kings Lynn’s claim that the BPI had no direct evidence of an infringement while the man from Brighton said he was unaware he was breaking the law.

The Brighton man, a postman, added that he did not seek any financial gain from the file sharing but the presiding Judge Lawrence Collins declared: "Ignorance is not a defence".

The BPI is currently pursuing a further 51 file-sharers who have been given a deadline of January 31 or face legal proceedings.