The French Government has struck out the controversial “three strikes” anti-piracy law Hadopi and its internet disconnection sanction – well almost! The graduated response measure under which users
The French Government has struck out the controversial “three strikes” anti-piracy law Hadopi and its internet disconnection sanction – well almost!
The graduated response measure under which users engaging in online copyright infringement were issued with three written warnings before their internet was disconnected has been replaced by a system of tiered fines starting at around €60 and increasing in size depending on the number of infringements. However, suspension of internet access has not totally been removed and remains a sanction under the French IP Code.
In a press release announcing the policy change, the Ministry of Culture and Communication explained that the government sees the real fight against piracy lying with the websites profiteering from commercial piracy rather than users for whom the internet is major gateway to culture.
The decision to focus on supply rather than demand is likely to be as controversial as the decision to implement Hadopi. The IFPI Digital Music Report 2012 noted that overall P2P use had declined by 26% since Hadopi notices began being issued in October 2010 and a study by Professor Brett Danaher found sales for singles and albums on French iTunes were 23% and 25% higher than they would have been without Hadopi. However, Hadopi was proving to be costly and despite reportedly spending millions of Euros on the body operating it and over 700,000 notices being issued by 2012, only one individual’s internet was actually cut off and then only for 15 days. Furthermore, some parts of the entertainment industry suggested Hadopi was stifling rather than encouraging sales in the digital music market which declined in the first quarter of this year.
The wisdom of the government's decision will no doubt be measured against French P2P use in the next year but the findings could be interesting for the system of copyright infringement reports yet to be implemented under the UK's Digital Economy Act 2010 where suspension of a persistent infringer's internet service is a potential technical measure which the Secretary of State has a power to impose on ISPs should the need arise for it.
The graduated response measure under which users engaging in online copyright infringement were issued with three written warnings before their internet was disconnected has been replaced by a system of tiered fines starting at around €60 and increasing in size depending on the number of infringements. However, suspension of internet access has not totally been removed and remains a sanction under the French IP Code.
In a press release announcing the policy change, the Ministry of Culture and Communication explained that the government sees the real fight against piracy lying with the websites profiteering from commercial piracy rather than users for whom the internet is major gateway to culture.
The decision to focus on supply rather than demand is likely to be as controversial as the decision to implement Hadopi. The IFPI Digital Music Report 2012 noted that overall P2P use had declined by 26% since Hadopi notices began being issued in October 2010 and a study by Professor Brett Danaher found sales for singles and albums on French iTunes were 23% and 25% higher than they would have been without Hadopi. However, Hadopi was proving to be costly and despite reportedly spending millions of Euros on the body operating it and over 700,000 notices being issued by 2012, only one individual’s internet was actually cut off and then only for 15 days. Furthermore, some parts of the entertainment industry suggested Hadopi was stifling rather than encouraging sales in the digital music market which declined in the first quarter of this year.
The wisdom of the government's decision will no doubt be measured against French P2P use in the next year but the findings could be interesting for the system of copyright infringement reports yet to be implemented under the UK's Digital Economy Act 2010 where suspension of a persistent infringer's internet service is a potential technical measure which the Secretary of State has a power to impose on ISPs should the need arise for it.