April 2003
Music Piracy Means it's All Easy Come, Easy Go For Stelios
Following our February report regarding EasyInternetCafé and the British Phonographic Industry, it has been reported this week that Stelios has settled the copyright infringement case by offering the sum of £210,000 to the BPI. Only £80,000 of this sum constitutes damages the remaining £130,000 covers the legal fees that the BPI have amassed during the course of this long running dispute which as well as the original case included a further appeal against the result on the part of Easy.
EasyInternet continued in their defence of the case regardless of pressing evidence against them and despite having ceased considering the practice of offering clients facilities to copy music as being commercially viable in September 2001.
BRIFFA Comment:
This is yet another indication that the BPI are clearly prepared to sink money into combating music piracy. The question is whether they have left it too late considering the number of home pc's that now come fitted with a cd-rewriter as standard. Whilst it looks as though EasyInternet certainly wont be repeating their errors there are doubtless many people left who see the risk as worth the gain as highlighted by dwindling music sales in the UK.