if they released the films and games at the same time from the US at actual decent prices, no one WOULD file share.

Take Hellboy 2, an R5 copy was available to download 3 weeks before the UK date arrived at the cinema. Which only showed how far behind our second class citizenship is!

Mark, United Kingdom,

The problem is, there is no scarcity with digital "Content". It can be cheaply shared across the net. We must ask ourselves: Is it better for any economy to create artificial scarcity of a limitless resource in order to increase earnings?

Ansable, CT, United States

Piracy has made the PC as a gaming platform less attractive to develop for and it's the ppl who like to play games that lose out in the end.

It's true business's shouldnt dictate law, and downloads x cost doesnt = lost revenue but ppl who like games should buy them or risk losing out on pc gaming.

Martyn, Watford, UK

Publishers and copyright owners need to stop being so greedy and reduce the costs of game/music/DVD. The average wage earner is not in a financial position to purchase at such over inflated titles. Simple.........reduce the cost and reduce the piracy.

Dean, Nottingham,

So businesses now decide what is legal, and who to declare sanctions on... I'd rather that people without vested interests don't pressure my ISP thanks.

Laurence, Hereford,

I don't think that anyone is losing out from P2P downloads. The downloaders were never going to pay for the game in the first place so stopping them downloading the game isn't going to make them go to the nearest Gamestation and start flashing their credit card about.

Dan, Portsmouth, United Kingdom

What I want to know is why would anyone want to share Dream Pinball? that game is rubbish and games like that dont take much money or time to create.

Thomas, Sydney, Aus

What's the difference between "sharing" copyright proctected media on the internet and photocopying a copyrighted book and handing it out on the street corner to all passerby's?

These people are depriving developers/musicians/actors of their livelyhood.

They are commiting theft.

Greg, Atlanta, USA

I recently wanted to buy the video game 'Battlefield 2' I could not find the game at my local games store or for legal download. And if I could download, it was restricted to US customers only. So I got it free from P2P.

John Smith, London, UK

Sued for UPLOADING not downloading.

john, london,

How does anyone know what you use your computer for.If music or game providers are tapping in to your communications with others they must be breaking the law?

james richards, edinburgh, uk

@ JHR, Norwich.

People have been getting legitimate, free, products for free for almost as long as broadband have been commercially available.

Also word to the less than wise, downloading copyrighted material, is NOT theft, its a civil tort.

The ISP's are guilty of far worse, look at Phorm.

Julius Khan, Hastings, East Sussex

Perhaphs this in itself could be a new business model, don't actually try and sell the game, leak it onto a few torrent sites then send out demand letters to people who download it.

Topware are already more know for threatening and sueing people than actually selling quantities of games.

Dan, Cumbria,

What is the difference between someone downloading illegally software, and someone shoplifting software? Answer is the punishment.

P.Robinson, Northants, England

JHR, Norwich, England

Yes.
100 cases doesn't even come close to scratching the surface. When you're hiding in a crowd of hundreds of millions and your using stealth precautions - you're uncatchatble. Only the fools end up in court

Andy, Cheshire, England

This is not theft. To be a theft, she would have to actually deprive the company of something they previously had. There's no "lost revenue" - this minor release would never be purchased by the vast majority of those sharing it. Yet this woman receives a bigger punishment than most violent criminals

CH, Doncaster, Yorkshire

The wheels of legislature grind much slower then the wheels of technology - we all knew this would be the time when the courts finally got off their slow butts and started racking in cash from the folks using the internet as a free forum of discourse it was always intended to be. Legal greed - sigh

Michael K, NYC, USA

"do people really think they can get quality products for nothing and continue to do so indefinitely?"

Yes, it's called Usenet.

DH, Guildford,

Yes they do.
And that's the way most industries will have to go.
Yesterdays business model won't work tomorrow. It's barely working now. That's why we have all these pointless prosecutions which serve no useful purpose.
Free product paid for by sponsorship and adverts is the only viable option.

beeno, Middlesbrough,

Copying games is illegal and nothing more than theft.
Where would gamers be if games developers go bust because of this type of abuse?
Remember that games developers can only create new games if they are provided with money from the custom of sales of the genuine article.

Stephen Holmes, Withington, UK

I've been using freeware or shareware such as Open Office and GIMP (alternative to photoshop) for a while at home. Both programs are fine for home use...in fact Open office has the ability to print to pdf which the expensive MS Office lacks!

Luke, London, UK

Is there any proof of these proceedings other than through a davenport lyons spokesman? And I expect they got a default judgement against somebody who did not turn up too fight their corner also.

Nick, Maidstone, Kent

time to put these file sharers in their place - do people really think they can get quality products for nothing and continue to do so indefinitely?

JHR, Norwich, England