Red Herring reports that France has passed a law that goes easy on downloaders but defines much harsher penalties for those who break security technologies. Snippets:
The National Assembly voted Wednesday night to approve a maximum fine of about €40 ($48.51) for those who illegally download music or other files, according to Régis Carral, head of the intellectual property group in the Paris office of Landwell, the legal services arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
But the assembly also voted the maximum penalties—three years of jail and a fine of €300,000 ($363,841)—to those who distribute software that enables consumers to get around copy restrictions put in place by DVD and CD manufacturers.
