Can my son or daughter go to jail for illegal file sharing?
When file sharing is illegal, for instance the sharing of blockbuster films or the latest MTV hit, a jail sentence is not likely to be the legal consequence of either the uploading or downloading of these files. In most cases courts will award economic compensation for the estimated loss/value of the infringement. Large scale illegal file sharing can, however, lead to criminal procedures and result in jail sentences depending on the volume of files shared, the profit motive involved etc. As mentioned earlier, copyright laws are different in different countries. So are the consequences of infringement. Even in the EU, where copyright and the enforcement of copyright is harmonised to a certain extent, infringements are not necessarily dealt with in the same manner.
