One of the issues we’ve had with the use of IP addresses as “proof” of file sharing, is that there can be many users and many computers coming from a single IP address — and lots of times we’ve seen parents sued for actions of their kids or even their kids’ friends. Now, under any common sense approach to the world, you would think that this would be seen as a problem. Occasionally, we’ve heard entertainment industry execs say that it doesn’t matter, and it should be the responsibility of whoever pays for the connection to make sure it’s not misused. For the most part, though, our judicial system realizes that you don’t blame the wrong party.
Apparently, over in Germany they feel differently. A woman, whose son apparently used file sharing programs despite the mother’s explicit ban on such things, has been held responsible for the son’s file sharing. The court said that simply banning her children from file sharing was not enough — she should have actively monitored the connection. That seems like an incredible stretch — and even makes you wonder if the judge has children.
Either way, I can see no reasonable argument for blaming a third party for someone else’s actions, and it’s even worse when that third party specifically told the others not to take part in the activity.
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