Portuguese Law Draft on the Sharing Licence

The Communist Party of Portugal has proposed a law on legalizing file-sharing in exchange for a levy: Partido Communista Portuguguês (PCP): Projeto de Lei n.o 228/XII/1.a. Regime Jurídico da Partilha de Dados Informáticos, 4 de Maio de 2012.

Here are the main features of the proposal:

  • It permits non-commercial sharing of works whose rights holders have not expressly prohibited their sharing.
  • ISPs shall pay 0,75 € per customer and month.
  • The rate shall be adjusted annually to inflation.
  • 70% of the levy goes to collecting societies, of which 40% to authors, 30% to performers and 30% to producers and publishers. 30% goes to the public arts and film funding agencies.
  • Prohibiting sharing is done by a declaration to the Minister of Culture and/or by making it explicit on the original work.
  • The Minister of Culture maintains a public list of prohibited works.
  • The communications authority provides data on Internet access, fixed and mobile.

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