Italian DJ Fined 1.4 Million Euros for Downloading

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international news _ 24th February 2005

Italian DJ Fined 1.4 Million Euros for Downloading

An Italian DJ has been fined 1.4 million Euros for downloading thousands of tracks that he used to play out regularly at a nightclub near Rome.

The fine, the highest ever been given to an individual was given to him after a raid on a nightclub in the Italian town of Rieti by local police turned up 500 copied music videos and the DJs laptop which contained thousands of downloaded tracks. The DJ, as yet unnamed, was described by police as 'well known' in Italy.

The fine comes as more resources than ever are given over to the combating of illegal file-sharing by the various phonographic industries who blame the rise of file sharing programs and culture for a supposed decline in record sales. Over 7000 law suits have been issued by the organisations to individuals in Canada, the US and Europe to a range of offenders with those charged as young as 12 years old.