The German arm of the IFPI, which has reportedly sued over 20,000 people since 2004, is planning to pick up the pace just a bit in the new year. IFPI Germany CEO Peter Zombik told reporters recently that his Filesharing lawsuits within Germany work a bit differently than in other places around the globe. The German IFPI actually presses legal charges against anonymous users, and once the German authorities uncover their identities, they use the personal details gained to file a civil suit as well. It's a bizarre system that puts German tax payers on the hook for the identity discovery costs, which can be quite high. Even if the criminal prosecution fails, the user's identify has been revealed, and the IFPI can continue with their civil assault.
P2P blog also reports that the IFPI's efforts in Germany haven't exactly been an overwhelming success so far. P2P traffic accounts for up to 70% of the bandwidth usage within Germany's borders some evenings, according to a recent study. I guess Zombik figures, why let a little thing like results stand in your way?
[via P2P blog]
