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In an interview with the Times of London this week, UK Intellectual Property Minister David Lammy likened file sharing to stealing a bar of soap from a hotel room, saying, "We can't have a system where we're talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms. People can rent a room in an hotel and leave with a bar of soap - there's a big difference between leaving with a bar of soap and leaving with the television."

"Lammy's comments have (not surprisingly) upset the recording industry," notes Techdirt's Mike Masnick. "Folks at BPI are particularly pissed off that Lammy compared file sharing to swiping a bar of soap in a hotel room you rented (i.e., a minor issue, not something to arrest someone over). BPI's representative claims he's 'appalled' that the IP minister would say such a thing, and even says it shows a lack of understanding about intellectual property. Generally, if you're pissing off the established recording industry folks, you're probably doing something right these days..."

More here from TelecomTV ... more here from TechRadar ... more here from the Guardian ... more here from BBC News ... and more here from IT PRO.