The French believe in online sharing of music and movies it seems. Lawmakers there have endorsed amendments to legalize the online sharing of music and movies, rather than making moves to punish such activities. Under originally proposed moves, those caught pirating copy-protected material would have faced $360,000 in fines and up to three years in jail. However, showbiz and cultural celebrities protested the move, and resulting amendments voted will legalize file-sharing by anyone paying a monthly royalties duty estimated at $8.50. Now this truly is the way forward!
Needless to say, music labels and movie distributors don't like this one bit. They have made claims that these new laws will break international laws on intellectual property, as have some celebrities and other media figures.
"To legalize the downloading of our music, almost free of charge, is to kill our work," venerable rocker Johnny Hallyday said in a statement.
The actors' and musicians' branch of France's largest trade union, the CFDT, said the plan "would mean the death of our country's music and audiovisual industries."