Drip, drip, drip
/Belgium Says ISPs Must Protect Copyright
Remember, illegal downloading is harming artistes. After all, when was the last time you saw a very wealthy rock star...?
A court in Belgium has ruled that an Internet Service Provider bears the responsibility for stopping illegal file-sharing on its network. Although the ruling was made in Belgium, it relies on the E.U. copyright directive and may set precedent for the entire Union according to IFPI, an organization that represents the recording industry world wide.Meanwhile, back in the real world, AllofMP3.com which was killed off a few day's ago has been able to continue providing downloads for it's six million customers via the alltunes.com download client. Or you could use MP3City or the unfortunately named legalsounds.com (ahem) or, of course you could check out some of the tens of thousands of sites providing music downloads. If you want to stay squeaky legal and your tastes are eclectic rather than pop/rock mainstream you could try eMusic.
Belgian courts have sided strongly with copyright holder in the past as well. In February, they ordered Google to stop copying Belgian newspaper headlines into their news and search indexes.
Remember, illegal downloading is harming artistes. After all, when was the last time you saw a very wealthy rock star...?
