“Downloading is a citizen’s right,” Mr. Climent said. “Even if there is only a small chance, there is a chance that a favorable judgment could change the laws across Europe.”

Mr. Godard has yet to comment publicly on Mr. Climent’s case, but he laid out the rationale for his opposition to French copyright rules in a recent interview with the cultural magazine Les Inrockuptibles, in which he declared, “There is no such thing as intellectual property.”

“Copyright really isn’t feasible,” Mr. Godard said. “An author has no rights. I have no rights. I have only duties.”

» via The New York Times & infoneer-pulse