Spain Puts File-Sharing Admins in Jail

Spain. Two file-sharing websites – FenixP2P.com and MP3-es.com – are not different from many of the file-sharing websites out there – meaning that they don’t host infringing content but instead offer links towards those that do.
It was unlikely that their admins would get into trouble as Spanish courts continuously exonerated defendants running similar portals, but the Provincial Court of Vizcaya begs to differ and sentenced them to one year in jail, plus fines.
The reason they were sent to jail is an appeal filed by ADES (Spanish Association of Distributors and Publishers of Entertainment Software) and Promusicae after the defendants were originally acquitted.

The court agreed that none of the sites in discussion hosted copyrighted material but made a note that through advertising they were looking for financial gain. Unfortunately for the admins, the Court of Vizcaya ruled that their actions constitute an act of “communicating to the public” rather than an exchange between individuals.

FenixP2P’s lawyer Carlos Sanchez Almeida commented on the court’s decision, claiming it’s a political statement.

“FenixP2P was a P2P links page that all courts have declared exempt from criminal liability in recent years,” he explained.
“Given the general atmosphere in the country after the internet campaign against the Sinde Law, a statement like this can only be understood in political terms.”
“The Provincial Court of Vizcaya did not hear directly from experts and witnesses, in violation of the principles of contradiction and immediacy,” he added.
Almeida is considering filing an appeal to the Constitutional Court and even the European Court of Human Rights. Let’s just hope it’ll be successful.