Actor, comedian, author, television presenter, Mac enthusiast and Twitter fan Stephen Fry has used the Apple iTunes Festival to attack copyright holders.

Fry admitted on his popular Twitter feed prior to Sunday night's event that he was nervous and wasn't sure what he planned to talk about. "All rather unnerving as I haven't the least idea what I'm going to say."

However, according to reports after outlining the history of copyright, Fry said the entertainment industry's pursuit of file-sharers was "doing the wrong thing," later admitting to using a BitTorrent client to download a US TV show.

The show was an episode of US medical drama House, now heavily promoted on Sky One, starring his former comedy partner Hugh Laurie. "The last thing I illegally downloaded… was the season finale of House." Fry did add he'd previously already bought the show legitimately.

Fry also mocked "those preposterous" commercials on DVDs telling audiences "you wouldn't steal a handbag," previously spoofed so effectively by Graham Linehan in C4's The It Crowd. Fry insisted that someone who downloaded an episode of 24 could not be compared to someone who might steal a handbag. The warnings, now dropped, compare downloading illegal content to a series of crimes including the theft of a handbag, car, television and DVD from a store.

Fry also hit out at those who had taken the Pirate Bay to task, saying the world's largest bittorrent tracker had been unjustly pursued, and the reputation of its founders smeared by the music industry. The founders face prison and must pay around 30 million Swedish kronor (£2.4m) in damages following an April court ruling.

While Fry was critical of those downloading illegally for profit on an "industrial" scale, he suggested if the price of downloads came down to a "fair" level, most people would be happy to pay.

Later, he used his Twitter feed to clarify his point of view. "Well, finished my bit. Hope I'm not misunderstood. Such a pity if I get misrepresented as a "help yourself and be a pirate" advocate ..."

Fry was added to a prestigious line-up of established and new musical talent last week, sharing a stage with Mumford & Sons and The Temper Trap. Oasis, Snow Patrol, Kasabian, Graham Coxon, Bloc Party, Bat For Lashes, The Hoosiers and Simple Minds are amongst 62 bands appearing over 31 nights. A limited number of tickets are still available here.

A long time Apple fan, Fry has appeared at the flagship Regent Street Apple Store and claims to have owned the second ever Mac sold in the UK.

Each iTunes Festival performance is being recorded and will be available to download on iTunes although Stephen Fry's performance may remain in the archives. However, as many in attendance had digital recorders, we suspect and illicit copy could be appearing on a file-sharing site any time now.

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