BitTorrent Sites Step Closer to Legality in Spain

236w ago - Back in September, it was ruled that an indexing Web site operated legally as it didn't host copyrighted material and linking to infringing material is permitted under Spanish law.

Now it appears as if this notion has gained extra support as a court has decided that a torrent site which was previously shut down by authorities actually operated legally.

To quote: In July 2007 we reported on the case of TodoTorrente.com, one of Spain's largest BitTorrent sites. After a year long investigation by Spain's Anti-Piracy Federation, an announcement was made by the Directorate of Police and Civil Guard - the site had been raided and closed by judicial order while the administrators arrested.

According to Spanish police, the site caused the entertainment industries 535,000 euros in losses and made 30,000 euros in profits. Unfortunately the authorities didn't have the benefit of foresight, which would've given them an understanding of how Spanish law would deal with a site that links to copyright infringing material.

In September 2008, a Spanish court ruled that providing links to copyrighted material is not a crime. The Provincial Court of Madrid ruled that Sharemula.com, a site offering eDonkey links to movies, music, software and games, did not break the law. Furthermore, the court's decision was final and could not be appealed.

If the ruling in the Sharemula case holds up, this means that TodoTorrente was not breaking the law either. Lawyer David Bravo who was involved in the TodoTorrente case, has contacted TorrentFreak with an update on the TodoTorrente situation. David notes that the coverage of the TodoTorrente raids and arrests had a great impact in the Spanish media, and further afield.