As the noose tightens around file sharing in many countries, do you know there are some countries in which you can legally download movies, TV shows, music, programs, video games, etc. as long as it is for personal use? No, no not “third-world” developing nations. Despite lax laws, most developing nations do not, as far as I know, officially condone file sharing. But Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, Spain, and Russia do.

Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, and Russia have somewhat remarkable laws that permits their residents to legally download copyrighted content if the residents meet certain requirements. In Switzerland you are free to download (i.e. torrent or file share) any and all copyrighted content — including movies, TV shows, music, etc. — as long as the content is used for personal use (i.e. cannot be used for commercial or business purposes). In Netherlands, you can download movies, music, TV shows, and the like as long as you only keep a certain copies of a specific copyrighted work and it is for personal use. In Canada, you can freely download music as long as it is for noncommercial use and you don’t redistribute it (e.g. no uploading, if talking about torrents). In Russia, you can download music and movies without fear of repercussion as long as you are downloading for home consumption. In Spain, file sharing and torrenting of copyrighted content for private use has been repeatedly declared legal by the courts multiple times.

Amazing isn’t it. In the day and age where piracy is such a big issue in some countries, other countries simply shrug it off. In fact, some countries, Switzerland in particular, have come out and have rebuked claims by the entertainment industry that file sharing is hurting them. In Dec 2011 the Swiss Federal Council released a report that said roughly 1/3 of Swiss residents over age 15 pirate content but they still spend money on purchasing music, movies, games, etc., too. The report outright rejected claims by the entertainment industry that Swiss law is hurting the industry.

Other countries, such as Netherlands and Russia, appease the entertainment industry by levying a small tax on the consumption of specific goods, to make up for any lost profits due to file sharing by residents. Now why can’t we try something like that in the rest of the world, so we can put this piracy business behind us and use technological advancements to innovate and create better products and services? Of course a case can be made that it is impossible to crush piracy in totality; if we legalize it, piracy will simply rear its head in another form. However, we can deal with that as it comes. We shouldn’t stifle the use of new technologies for fear of what may happen in the future.

Note: This article is not intended to serve as legal advice. This article does not establish any implied or explicit attorney-client relationship between dotTech and you. I am not a lawyer. I am simply reporting what I read. Don’t sue me. Kapeesh?