NOW YOU CAN DOWNLOAD MOVIES IN FRANCE

Thanks to his friend Jean-Baptiste Soufron the IPKat learned yesterday the Cour d'appel de Montpellier released a 22 year old internet user without charge after he was sued for copying nearly 500 movies on the internet, burning them on CDs and sharing them with friends. The Court based its decision on Article L-122-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code:

"authors can’t forbid copies or reproductions that are only intented for the private use of the copyist".

In a similar case in January however, the Discrict Court of Pontoise found another internet user guilty and ordered him to pay more than 15,000 euros. In December the French Association of Audionauts helped another defendant who was able to win his case before the District Court of Chateauroux. There are still more than 50 criminal procedures pending in France. More than 20 of them are being helped by the French Association of Audionauts.

An Audionaut: he may just be coming to rescue you

The IPKat knows where to go if he should ever want to do so much copying. Merpel wonders why, the easier it is to copy things, the less there is that she actually wants to copy. Must be a sign of increasing maturity ...

Press release of the Association of Audionauts here
Audionauts here; Astronauts here; Argonauts here