Stockholm - A Swedish district court Monday convicted a man of illegal file-sharing and fined him for violating copyright laws. The man, 31, was charged with distributing some 30 films and over 4,500 music files on the internet and sentenced to a 10,000 kronor fine (1,600 dollars) based on his income, and to pay legal costs.
The Swedish branch of IFPI, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, welcomed the ruling by the district court in Linkoping, 200 kilometres south-west of Stockholm.
"The trial is a sort of manual on how evidence in such cases can be assessed," IFPI lawyer Peter Danowsky said in a statement.
The Swedish Anti-Piracy Bureau also welcomed the ruling in what it said was "the largest case tried in Sweden to date."
A network of supporters of file-sharing, the Bureau of Piracy, said it was less convinced about the legal arguments giving police the right to demand the IP addresses of suspected file-sharers.
High-speed connections and the widespread use of the internet has fuelled downloading in Sweden, and supporters of file-sharing even ran for parliament 2006.
Earlier this year, four men were charged with operating a popular internet website that allegedly acts as a hub for illegal file- sharing. The charge sheet mentioned 33 alleged cases of copyright infringement, 20 were related to music and nine to films, including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
