Italy passes tough law against illegal file-sharing

ROME (AP) -- Italy's parliament has passed one of the world's toughest laws aimed at fighting illegal file-sharing and other Internet piracy, with prison time among the penalties.
The law calls for up to three years in prison for using the Internet illegally for commercial purposes. Such offenses include selling content for which the vendor does not hold the intellectual rights.
Fines for infringements run as high as $300,350, though smaller fines of up to $1,250 would be imposed for the simple unauthorized downloading of copyrighted works for personal use.
The Culture Ministry says the law, which took effect Friday, was necessary to apply intellectual-property protections to Internet file-sharing.
Such laws are usually hard to enforce and discourage artists who rely on the Internet to promote their work, said Robin Gross, head of IP Justice, a nonprofit that aims to promote a balance between protection of intellectual property and free use of the Internet.
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