The effects of April’s landmark new copyright laws in Sweden are beginning to emerge, as the first case related to copyright infringement has been heard by a Swedish court. An ISP provider in Sweden has been ordered by the court to hand over information on its customers to five publishers who are investigating copyright violations.
The Local reports that Ephone, a broadband service provider, must comply with the demands of the court or it will face USD 95,000 in fines. Ephone must turn over the information of all its customers connected to certain IP-addresses.
The court determined that some Ephone users were violating copyright laws, and ordered the company to pay the five publishers’ court costs as well. The new Swedish anti-piracy laws came into effect on 1 April, and the five audio book publishers were the first group to file a case under the new laws.
The publishers, and 15 authors who believe their works are being distributed illegally via the Internet, want to know who owns the server that supposedly contains 2,000 audio book titles. When Ephone refused to disclose the person using the IP-address in question, the publishers went to court.
The court has sided with the publishers, opening the door to what will likely become a major issue of legal controversy in the future.