Legalize File Sharing, Say Swedish MPs

CrystalFalcon writes "In the past week, the file sharing debate has exploded in Sweden, with numerous mainstream politicians finally having understood the issue. Last week, seven Swedish MPs wrote a prominent opinion piece saying that fully legalized file sharing is not just the best solution, it's the only solution. Now their number has increased to 13, and the issue continues to grow. Good summaries at TorrentFreak and P2P Consortium. Original opinion piece in English here."

Comments

Erhm... Astonishment, Joy, Eyebrow-rising...

[alx5000]

There's no emoticon for what I'm feeling.

Proud of Sweden

[hossi19]

I'm very proud to live in the Sweden now. Proud of the nation of Pirates! So if you mpaa or riaa are planing to invande Sweden, think again! We will fight to the last man. Yarr!

That is the democratic way of dealing with it

[Wooky_linuxer]

After all, in a democratic country, if a very large percentage of the population willingly infringes a law, there is a very strong case that the law is wrong, not the people. So I guess in any (truly) democratic country file-sharing and similar attitudes regarding "intellectual property" should be legal.

Re:That is the democratic way of dealing with it

[CrystalFalcon]

Exactly. If a large enough percentage of the population wants the law to change, they will simply vote in new politicians.

Most of the time, the existing politicians sense this is about to happen ahead of time, and change the law themselves.

That's how democracy works. Or at least, how it's supposed to work.

What percentage of people share files?

[pieterh]

It would be really interesting to know what percentage of computer users share files...? In my informal surveys, the figure is really high, 80-90%, and the people who do not share files don't do it simply because they don't care, or don't know how.

I have never, once, found someone who actually states that they have a moral principle against it.

The whole "piracy is theft" campaign seems as empty as the "don't smoke pot" campaign. People will do it, and just find ways of not getting caught.

Not surprised

[Armakuni]

It seems that any actual societal progress comes from Europe these days, while the US is sinking deeper into a Republican/corporate mire. This is just another example.

Carefull sweden, you got WMD

[SmallFurryCreature]

Weapons of mass distribution are found in sweden, US pledges to liberate the citizens.

Anyone else think that some one at the media forgot to pay swedish politicians? Don't worry, it will soon be corrected when the politicians all of sudden find they aren't invited to any media social events.

Attn: Sweden

[El Yanqui]

Please re-seed. I'm stuck at 67%.

Re:Hmm, maybe..

[famebait]

I think NO penalties for ignoring copyright infringement is a bad idea,

I'm a bit confused about what you mean here.
Who is ignoring copyright infringement and should be penalized for it?

The pirates today are _performing_ infringement.
The Swedish MPs in question want to change the law so that it is _not_ an infringement.
In free countries it is not normal to punish civilians for ignoring the petty crimes of their fellow citizens.
Is it the law enforcers you want to punish, than, if they fail to crack down on file-sharers?

Are we all singing off the same songsheet

[ddrichardson]

FTA:

Decriminalizing all non-commercial file sharing and forcing the market to adapt is not just the best solution. It's the only solution, unless we want an ever more extensive control of what citizens do on the Internet.

That's not the same as the synopsis:

Last week, seven Swedish MPs wrote a prominent opinion piece saying that fully legalized file sharing is not just the best solution, it's the only solution.

Now, I RTFA and it reads to me that he feels that the media/IP industries will never be satisfied with what the state does and that he doesn't feel it's the states place to police the Internet. Both of these are admirable and sensible statements, in line with what many people actually think.

But I really don't think he is advocating Sweden as some sort of torrent haven as some posters seem to be suggesting.

Because it's the right thing to do

[YA_Python_dev]

I agree, but not only because there are so many people pirating, but simply because this is the right thing to do. It's not about pirating or saving a few bucks: one of the primary reasons for the existence of nations is to contribute to the diffusion and development of culture (I live in Italy and here we have this clearly written in one of the first articles of our constitution; the proposed European constitution says pretty much the same thing).

Copyright was established as a state-created monopoly, for a limited time, to encourage the creation and diffusion of artistic works. Not to guarantee an endless stream of money to the MAFIAA lawyers. It's pretty clear that the creation and diffusion of art, music, movies, books, etc. is doing pretty well today (probably better than any other period in human history!) despite, and sometimes thanks to, the huge diffusion of filesharing and piracy.

So there's no need to outlaw it. It's that simple: copyright isn't a law of nature, it was accepted as a compromise to achieve an end and can be changed if necessary.

Re:So much for Sweden

[l0b0]

I have to say, getting EU citizenship is looking more appealing all the time.

A word of warning before crossing the pond:

• Police won't be carrying guns at all times, so they will provide absolutely no protection.
• You'll have to deal with a lot of people who actually know the difference between "their", "there", and "they're". And you might even have to learn a whole new language to deal with those who don't.
• Don't plan to get rich - Even billionaires have to pay taxes here.
• Gun-toting rednecks are few and far between, so don't expect much interesting company. And forget about monster trucks!
• The Germans, Russians and Italians are just waiting for their chance - Don't let all this openness, good food/drink, and friendly faces fool you!
• Most people prefer Belgian or Swiss chocolate to Mars bars, Belgian, Polish, German or Czech beer to Bud, and pasta, sauerkraut, fondue or smoked salmon to a Big Mac.
• In rural places a lot of people don't even lock their doors, so naturally theft, rape and murder are rampant.
• The taxpayers' money is spent on lots of useless stuff - Schools, health insurance and those too lazy to work.

But if this is not too daunting, you're very welcome to join!

Offtopic spelling nazi

[HubHikari]

Actually you write it grammar, grammer implies you don't know how to spell. Use it correctly and...well, women won't flock around you at parties, but English teachers will be less inclined to hit you with bricks.

Re:Sure,

[neuron2neuron]

God, I hate pseudo-arguments like this; taking one aspect of the argument and spinning it, but ok, I'll bite

a) worked on many different TV shows
b) worked for a record company
c) have a couple of patents
and d) I write.

Of course, you'd know of d alrady - I wrote the piece for TorrentFreak.

The point of the pieces through, isn't abolishing copyright, returning to anarchy, but instead that attempting to criminalise a large section of the population, because an industry hasn't moved on, nor learned from past attempts (with the VCR and MP3 players specifically mentioned).

I just hope your writing is a damned sight better than your reading comprehension.

Re:Sure,

[randomaxe]

In a world where content is created only by those who really enjoy doing it, and not by those who are simply in it for the money, there would be no Britney Spears albums, no Michael Bay movies, and no more anything by Dr. Phil. The Church of Scientology would dry up and disappear due to a shortage of funds and perceived "star power". I am having a very difficult time understanding what is "bad" about any of this.

Re:What took them so long?

[Iloinen Lohikrme]

Actually he did mean Nokia. You see Finland is just rebellious province of Sweden, lost for temporarily, but not permanently. No truly Swedish have never accepted the loss of the empire. As the time will come right the Stormaktstiden will come back! The rightful lands of Finland, Norway, Estonia and parts of Russia and North-Germany will be returned under the reborn Swedish Empire!