20000 Euro per song ?

Server operators who happen to have songs on their servers that may be distributed illegally will have to pay the fine of 20000 Euro ($28000) per song: at least in Germany according to the district court in Hamburg. Private downloaders get it much cheaper though. They only have to pay 6000 Euro for the first song, 3000 for the second, 1500 for the third and 600 for all remaining ones. A cheap bargain don't you think ?

This is however not the only fee that has to be paid. The opposing council has to be paid as well which adds roughly 850 Euros ($1193) if one song has been offered on the server up to 5850 Euros ($8200) for 50 songs. All of these fees without a single second in court until now of course.

If you happen to go to court you have to add fees for your own attorney and for the court which all depend on the amount in dispute. Last but not least there is the compensation for the Music Industry which the server operator or file sharer has to pay as well.

Am I the only one who thinks that this is out of line? The payment does not take into account the number of times a song has been downloaded, only that it has been on offer publicly?

Especially if you take into consideration that recent studies do show that downloaders spend considerably more on digital music purchases.

"There's a myth that all illegal downloaders are mercenaries hell-bent on breaking the law in pursuit of free music. In reality they are often hardcore fans who are extremely enthusiastic about adopting paid-for services as long as they are suitably compelling," said Paul Brindley, director of The Leading Question.

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