Pablo Soto vs. The Majors: Spanish court rules that P2P software is legal

The Provincial Court of Madrid has ruled yesterday that in Spain it is legal to create and disseminate P2P networks, acquitting Pablo Soto - creator of Blubster, Piolet and Manolito - of the charges brought by Warner Music, Promusicae, Universal Music, EMI and Sony BMG.

The labels were demanding 13 million Euros in damages for unfair competition in the marketplace, but the judge found that Soto’s activities were not only legal but protected by the Spanish Constitution.

Soto has been fighting this case since 2008, the first ruling came in 2011 proclaiming Soto’s position as essentially neutral since he only provides the technology. The appeals ruling should prove to be the final nail in the coffin in the label's case.

Soto has now released a new version of his Blubster P2P software to celebrate the court victory and it won't be long until more P2P networks start cropping up in Spain. There's no denying that the recording industry has certainly suffered a major decline in revenues in the country - mostly blamed on piracy - but one wonders what would have happened if the six years spent in court fighting one of the most brilliant minds in this field had been spent working together in finding a way to monetise P2P audiences, something that BitTorrent is working hard on today.

(Andrea Leonelli)