Sharing 2,999 Songs, 199 Movies Is Safe In Germany

unassimilatible writes "Torrentfreak is reporting that German prosecutors will now only pursue larger-scale file sharers on the Internet, as they are tired of being the entertainment industry's profit collector. 'Prosecutors in a German state have announced they will refuse to entertain the majority of file-sharing lawsuits in [the] future. It appears that only commercial-scale copyright infringers will be pursued, with those sharing under 3,000 music tracks and 200 movies dropping under the prosecution radar.' And the money quote: 'It seems that the legal system in Germany has had enough of this "abuse" of the criminal law system for "civil" monetary gain.' If only an American politician would make this point. Why should taxpayers underwrite their government becoming enforcers for the entertainment industry? Then again, when you see how much politicians are being paid, an answer suggests itself."

Comments

mistake, or different legal system?

[bcrowell]

Prosecutors in a German state have announced they will refuse to entertain the majority of file-sharing lawsuits in future

In the U.S., copyright infringement is a civil matter, not a criminal one, although I think that may be different in Europe...? But what really doesn't make sense to me is the reference to "prosecutors" vis a vis "lawsuits." In a lawsuit, there isn't any prosecutor, is there?

My guess is that it is criminal in Germany rather than civil, and that the word "lawsuits" is incorrect. If that's the case, then where's the news here? Of course police and prosecutors aren't going to spend time going after small-time file sharers. Same deal in the US with small-time white-collar crime. Hell, cops in the US typically won't even do much about the theft of a laptop or a ten-speed bike, even if it's theoretically grand larceny. It's just a matter of resources. They're more concerned with violent crime.