Action on unlawful P2P file-sharing

New ideas to allow for swifter and more flexible measures to tackle unlawful peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing are published today by the Government.

The Government is seeking views on the idea of including a power, under the forthcoming Digital Economy Bill, for the Secretary of State to direct Ofcom to introduce technical measures to clamp down on piracy, if necessary.

This would involve an obligation on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to take action against individual, repeat infringers - for example by blocking access to download sites, reducing broadband speeds, or by temporarily suspending the individual’s Internet account.

Evidence on whether such action is required would be provided in regular reports from Ofcom to the Secretary of State.

Previously, it had been proposed that Ofcom would undergo a detailed process in order to ascertain that technical measures were required. With this approach, the earliest that measures could come into play was during 2012. The Government has now reached the view that, if action was deemed necessary, this might be too long to wait given the pressure put on the creative industries by piracy. The new ideas outlined today would potentially allow action to be taken earlier.

The Government is also considering adding account suspension to the list of technical measures that could be used only as a last resort against the hard core of copyright pirates.

To enable stakeholders to provide feedback on the new ideas, the Government has today issued an explanatory statement and extended the current consultation on unlawful P2P file sharing to 29 September. Responses received so far will still be given full consideration.

Minister for Digital Britain, Stephen Timms said:

“Technology and consumer behaviour is fast-changing and it’s important that Ofcom has the flexibility to respond quickly to deal with unlawful file-sharing.

“We’ve been listening carefully to responses to the consultation this far, and it’s become clear there are widespread concerns that the plans as they stand could delay action, impacting unfairly upon rights holders.

“So we look forward to hearing views on our new ideas, which along with those already received, will help us determine the best way to tackle this complex challenge.”

After listening to views from all sides, the Government is also seeking views on how the costs of the process should be covered. It proposes that some costs, such as the operating costs of sending out notifications and Ofcom’s costs as the Regulator, should be shared equally between ISPs and rights holders.

BNP Leader faces bankruptcy over copyright theft

The British National Party has lost £11,800 and its leader is facing bankruptcy after two legal actions over the unauthorised use of copyrighted images on its website.

Mark Croucher, a freelance journalist, discovered over the Xmas period that the BNP were using an image on which he owned the copyright. The image, which had been taken in 2003 when Mr Croucher was UKIPs Director of Communications, featured UKIP Leader Nigel Farage and accompanied a libellous article.

The BNP were warned in January that they were using the image without copyright permission, and required a retrospective license to cover the period of unauthorised use. They were also warned that if it was not removed within 24 hours, the charge for continued use would be £75 per day, and that continued use would be tacit acceptance of this charge. They chose to ignore that warning.

On 20^th January, court proceedings were issued, and judgements against the BNP and Nick Griffin personally were obtained on the 16^th March after they failed to defend the action. As the image was still in use, further proceedings were issued, and another judgement was obtained after they again failed to defend the action. The image remains on their website, and the total charges incurred now total £11,800, the equivalent of 590 BNP members' annual subscriptions.

Mr Croucher said, "The BNP seem to think that they are above the law, and can take whatever they want without payment regardless of the damage caused to others.

"Their actions are as repugnant as their views. It is no surprise to discover that apart from stealing my work, they also refuse to pay for it when caught, despite 2 court orders.

"Griffin is hot on talking about the need for honesty in politics. He could demonstrate some of it by paying his bills. His failure to do so speaks volumes about the integrity of the BNP, and serves as a warning of what to expect for any who vote for them.

"I am not rich; far from it. The use of my work on the BNP website devalues everything I do by association: who'd commission a possible Nazi to work for them? I have debts to pay and bills to cover like everybody else and this flagrant theft of my work makes both harder at a difficult time financially."

Green MEP Joins Forces With Music Legend To Protest 'Corporate Bully' Copyright Proposals In Euro-Parliament - Billy Bragg visit, 22 April 2009

Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas will take to the platform alongside legendary musician and activist Billy Bragg at a press conference in the European Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday 22 April), to protest against proposals to extend copyright for artists and musicians which could see them lose considerable power to large corporate record labels (1).

The European Commission is proposing extend the term of protection of copyrights and related rights for performers and phonogram producers from 50 years to 95 years. Billy Bragg has voiced his support for a Green call to amend the controversial legislation and give the rights of ownership back to performers after 50 years (2).

South East Green Dr Lucas and other MEPs, together with Billy Bragg and a number of industry figures, will outline their opposition to the Copyright Term Extension Directive at the press conference in Strasbourg tomorrow between 3.30pm and 4pm.

Dr Lucas MEP said: "It is clear that action is needed to better reward performers for their work, but this legislation is absolutely not the solution. Copyright extension effectively allows the state to give powerful corporations a free rein to increase their profits – to the detriment of performer rights and artistic creativity.

"The Commission claims that the proposal would benefit both performers and record producers, but it is unlikely to do either. This legislation is framed to profit owners of the rights to music and not the performers. In fact it is estimated that under this law, 80% of profits from copyright deals would go to the media conglomerates and most of the remainder to the biggest recording artists.

"We're talking about a gigantic windfall for a few multinational companies, taking millions of pounds from the pockets of consumers and giving it to the record labels. Also, the artistic cost of making songs from the last 50 years public property, thus allowing endless sampling by DJs and other artists, must be taken into consideration.

"The UK Greens are committed to a system known as Creative Commons (3), which offers a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors and artists. We want to encourage innovation and prevent large corporations from controlling and benefitting from our cultural legacy."

Dr Lucas MEP concluded: "The European Commission is seeking to rush these proposals through Parliament without adequate scrutiny by MEPs, and the only people who look set to benefit are the corporate profiteers.

"At tomorrow's press conference, I will call on my fellow MEPs to vote down these proposals and pave the way for fairer and more progressive legislation which will give greater power to the artists and performers themselves."