Internet Copyright infringement laws

The year 2010 I believe will continue see the establishment of greater security laws for and against online users depending on which side of the fence you might sit.

The internet has basically been a free for all. One can download almost any copyrighted material once it can be found on the internet without any penalty, or cost whatsoever, but change is in the air.

In recent news the owner of Isohunt - Gary Fung who operates an internet search site for torrent files, was charged with inducing copyright infringement. Mr. Fung denies it as he sees himself as any other search engine such as Bing, Yahoo, or Google.

Google has also incurred its share of allegation from the world of media including Mr. Rupert Murdoch, who has accuse the search engine giant of displaying its content which has a price tag behind it. Mr. Murdoch is considering blocking the search engine from its content.

In France, a bill through parliament was formulated called the Creation and Internet Bill set up a new state agency - the Higher Authority for the Distribution of Works and the Protection of Copyright on the Internet.

Illegal downloaders will be sent a warning e-mail, then a letter if they continue, and finally must appear before a judge if they offend again.

Instances such as these are expected to flourish in 2010 as newspaper, software, video, and software sales continue to decline, or remain steady, as the material is available for free on the internet.