In yet another defeat for "rights" organisations who make misleading claims, it seems common sense has prevailed
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/27/scarlet_isp_belgium_reversal/A Belgian judge who slapped a €2,500 per day fine on an ISP until it filtered its network for music copyright infringements has reversed the decision after music lawyers conceded it wasn't technically possible.
The successful appeal by provider Scarlet last week overturns a ruling made in July last year. The final skirmish in Scarlet's battle with royalties collection society SABAM is now scheduled for October 2009.
SABAM had persuaded the judge that Scarlet could block all copyright-infringing music files passing through its network by using software from Audible Magic.
The decision was seen as a potential landmark in European internet law by observers, as it made ISPs liable for the copyright status of traffic they carry.
In its appeal, Scarlet said it could not comply with the order because Audible Magic was ineffective.
SABAM's lawyers admitted they had misled the court about the software's powers
Whats suprising about this case is the time taken to get a common sense ruling, in the meantime other network operators have been pressure sold into purchasing this failed software based on this case, one thing is clear, the music industry misled the court, it seems this is something they often do, so stay alert folks and make sure you refute their propaganda whenever its encountered.
