Server operators start closing down operations there after courts rule can be held liable for $28,000 USD in damages for each song it facilitates the illegal sharing of.

Over the past two weeks, ED2K users have been noticing that their very-reliable German-based servers have been disappearing.  First, about a dozen "Big Bang" servers started refusing connections.  Shortly afterward, the half-dozen "DonkeyServer" servers stopped indexing the users' files. 

With no word from the operators as to why the servers are no longer functioning, network users worldwide have been speculating as to the reason.



Now it appears that the root cause of the server disruption has been linked to a recent judgment by a regional German court in Hamburg (Az. 308 O 273/07). The ruling clearly defined a monetary value for which to hold server operators liable for the illegal file-sharing of copyrighted music they facilitate.

Even though a server may not contain any actual portion of a copyrighted song, if the mere facilitation of the copyright infringement is found to have occurred the server operator can then be held liable for 20,000 Euro (about $28,000 USD) per song!

This is more than 3 times the amount that a simple file-sharer is fined for actually sharing a song. The $20,000 Euro fine against a server operator is fixed for each file, while the simple file sharer is fined on a gradually decreasing scale for the second, third, and additional files involved in the infringement.

This trend by German authorities to target server operators for their "facilitation" paints a troubling picture for file-sharing in as a whole. For at what point does the responsibility of the user end and the operator begin? It could effectively mean a large-scale shutdown of servers by people no longer willing to risk being held liable for the actions of users, a practice which seems to be already occurring.

Will this now mean that ISPs and cellphone providers will have to begin the arduous and unnerving practice of monitoring users and the content they either share or access on their networks as well?

Of all the countries in the world you'd think that at least Germany would have learned long ago about the dangers involved with intruding on the free flow of ideas, thoughts, and information among its people.

[Special THX to Robb Topolski for the news tip]

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