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stifle867, to piracy in Swiss copyright law: what can and can’t I download?

In Switzerland, individuals are still free to download whatever files they like for their own private use (except for software and video games).

Note that uploading or seeding a copyrighted work, which was a misdemeanor under the previous law, remains illegal.

source: With P2P law, Switzerland reaffirms its commitment to privacy

Kissaki,

What makes Software different? Is there specific law for it?

LordR,

There is a specific paragraph in the law stating that computer programms are exempt from private use:
"Dieser Artikel findet keine Anwendung auf Computerprogramme."

So somehow they specifically excluded computer programs from the article that allows you to download and use everything for yourself.

stifle867,

I found a number of articles specifically stating that video games and software remain illegal. Unfortunately I couldn’t pinpoint the specific part of the law as they appear to br written in French and was running into hurdles with Google Translate character limits that I couldn’t be bothered to work around.

I’m not sure if it’s explicitly illegal or if music, videos, etc are explicitly exempted, or if software etc is different due to terms of service for example.

Furthermore, it’s illegal for anyone to record your IP address torrenting a work and track you down that way as it violates Swiss data protection laws.

TheHobbyist, to piracy in Swiss copyright law: what can and can’t I download?

Is there any case in Switzerland where someone was caught and fined for having distributed copyrighted material?

theKalash,

Yes. This was the very first conviction in Switzerland for pirating music.

They were fined 1000 Franks + the court costs (so basically slap on the wrist).

TheHobbyist,

Is this an exception? Having heard in France and in Germany how easily and often people get caught, this is the first time I hear of such a situation in Switzerland.

theKalash, (edited )

I think they are rather isolated. At least I have a hard time finding cases.

Here is another one, but this guy was running a website for sharing pirated stuff, which I think is much easier to track without violating privacy laws.

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