The chain was taken to court by the British Phonographic Industry, as well as Sony Music, Universal Music and EMI. The BPI said that, by allowing users to download music from the internet on to CDs, EasyInternetcafe was guilty of copyright infringement.
Stelios, who has seen his EasyJet airline go from strength to strength, is now fighting back. He is reported to be counting on the 1988 Copyright Act, which states that users are legally allowed to record items such as television programmes to watch at convenient times.
The record companies have seen record sales fall dramatically and are fighting the growing prevalence of internet music piracy. While there have been successes, such as the closure of Napster, the industry looks to be fighting a losing battle.
If Stelios loses his appeal, he could pay as much as 拢1m to the record companies, depending on how much music is believed to have been downloaded through the EasyInternetcafe chain.
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