A woman has been ordered to pay more than £16,000 for illegally downloading a computer game over the internet in one of the first indications that games manufacturers are likely to take the same aggressive stance as music and film companies in pursuing alleged copyright violations.
The payout follows similarly large awards against individuals who have downloaded software, songs and movies via peer-to-peer networking websites, and has been granted despite government-backed attempts to reach a deal between computer users and entertainment companies.
The Patents County Court in London ordered the woman, who has not been named, to pay damages of £6086.56 and costs and disbursements of £10,000 to Topware Interactive, owner of the computer game Dream Pinball 3D, London law firm Davenport Lyons said.
The firm has launched civil proceedings against 100 people suspected of illegally uploading copyrighted works on behalf of Topware Interactive.
The case is focusing on peer-to-peer networks, which give subscribers direct access to each other's computers, allowing people to download files without paying fees to the copyright owner.
Downloading films and music has grown massively on the back of the internet revolution that has swept the UK, with some six million people thought to engage in illegal file-sharing each year. The increase in broadband take-up and internet speed has only exacerbated the problem.
Concern over the practice led to an agreement last month between six of the UK's biggest internet service providers, the music industry body BPI, and the Motion Picture Association to reduce illegal filesharing within three years.
The BPI has pursued a number of cases against people for illegally downloading music. In 2006, two men were ordered to pay costs and damages, in one of the cases running to more than £18,000. Similar actions have provoked a backlash in the US, where some parents have been forced into massive damages payments because of the downloading activity of their children.
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