Illegal file sharing in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
File sharing in the United Kingdom relates to the distribution of digital media in that country. As of 2010, there are over 18.3 million households connected to the internet in the United Kingdom, with 63% of these having a broadband connection. There are also many public internet access points such as public libraries and internet cafes.
In 2009 a on-line survey undertook by Harris Interactive on behalf of the BPI that of 3442 people
questioned in the UK, 1012 reported downloading music from peer to peer networks, which shows the level of file sharing occurring in the UK.
A survey by XTN Data in 2006 found that of the 1000 people interviewed 28% admitted to have downloading copyrighted material without paying for such material.
This has had a large impact on the sales of music and movies
in the UK, single sales for example were around 78 million for 1998 yet this figure had decreased to a mere 8.6 million by 2008, with illegal downloading being seen as responsible for part of this decline. However, some analysts believe that the downturn in sales is more to do with the industry focusing investment on poorer quality short-lived acts, and a failure to embrace modern technology to distribute music electronically at a reasonable price.
which are applicable to or breached by file sharing activity, these are the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
and the Digital Economy Act 2010
.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
aims to protect the intellectual rights of the creator or copyright holder. File sharing breaches this act since the copyright has not permitted the sharing of such material.
The Digital Economy Act changed the penalties related to infringement of copyright. The legislation is concerned more directly with copyright on the internet than previous legislation that had been more concerned with commercial abuse of copyright.
(BPI) sought help from the government to force internet service providers to identify those users suspected of file sharing and to take action against these on behalf of the BPI, which suspected many of these users to be infringing copyright.
With the backing of the government this was made part of the Digital Economy Act and passed into law after a Parliamentary debate in April 2010.
As a result of this pressure on the ISP's, the six main ISP's of BT
, Virgin, Sky
, Tiscali
, Orange and Carphone Warehouse will become responsible for the notification of users identified by the BPI through their IP address. This notification will be that of a cease and desist which would threaten legal action if such behaviour continued or if a compensation payment was not made by the defendant. Following the governments backing of the BPI in this measure the movie industry has also signed up to also seek action against those it has determined to be persistent infringer's of its copyrights. Further steps can also be taken by ISP's if the identified users continue to breach copyright, such as the restriction of the bandwidth available to them or even total disconnection and possible bans or suspensions from the internet.
However amendments, proposed in 2010, to the Digital economies Bill by the industry watchdog, Ofcom, will see some ISP's become exempt. Those ISP's which would become exempt would be those classed as smaller providers with user subscriptions of under 400,000, also to be exempt would be those who provide access for mobile broadband users due in part to the way in which this service operates. Exemption for these ISP's will possibly see numbers of users transferring from the major ISP's to smaller ones, especially those users who wish to engage in illegal behaviour. One of the main reasons for seeking exemption is the costs and time-scale required for smaller ISP's to put in place measures for the monitoring.
The monitoring software used by ISP's to check on internet activity of suspected illegal file sharers has itself been called into question, citing concerns over the legality of such software and the privacy issues that is use raises. Virgin wish to use new software called, Cview, which monitors activity and compares any downloaded material to a database of copyrighted material in order to determine if there has been an infringement, as of 2010 this software is being evaluated for suitability by the European Commission and Ofcom with particular attention paid to whether this software breaches privacy or data protection directives.
The music industry in Britain was not the only industry to seek action against illegal file sharing, the computer games industry, worth an estimated £2billion, also sought compensation for copyright infringement. Five major games companies; Atari
, Codemasters
, Topware Interactive
, Reality Pump and Techland
, have served notices to over 25000 UK internet users they feel have breached their copyright by downloading or sharing games on file sharing websites. These companies have demanded a payment of £300 in order to settle the matter out of court, warning that non payment will result in legal action. In what was a landmark case in terms of file sharing one company, Topware Interactive took a user, Isabella Barwinska, to court over copyright infringement on a game called Dream Pinball 3D, which had not only been illegally downloaded by Mrs Barwinska but also had been uploaded and shared by her to many other users. The court found in favour of Topware Interactive and imposed a penalty of £16,000 on Mrs Barwinska. Following this case Topware Interactive then began planning action against those internet users known to have accessed this game via Mrs Barwinska despite their being no financial gain involved for the defendant.
In July 2010 music company, Ministry of Sound, also served notices to internet users it claimed had breached its copyright by downloading music tracks. Notices were sent to around 2,000 users via London lawyers Gallant Macmillan demanding a compensation payment of around £350 in order to avoid legal action being taken against them, however many users have challenged these claims by the Ministry of Sound, stating either their innocence or challenging the legality of the action taken.
The BPI however do not openly support this method of mass mailing users, preferring rather to target specific users to be notified, those users it deems as persistent up loaders making copyrighted material to others via file sharing and persistent down loaders.
The BPI have also complained to Google about illegal downloads and the ease that these can be located or identified through its search engine, believing that Google has a responsibility to help prevent access to such material and that links to these should be removed. Although it should be noted that this material is not actually hosted by Google but through sites locatable through its use.
is one prominent example in the UK. These groups are opposed to the digital economy act.
have openly stated that they will refuse to send warning letters to their customers, or hand over any of their personal information, even if it became a legal requirement for them to do so.
TalkTalk
have stated that the "government's plans to punish people suspected of illegal downloading are an assault on human rights", and pledged to fight government anti-piracy laws. In 2010 TalkTalk launched a major campaign, Don't Disconnect Us, against government plans to disconnect connections suspected of repeat copyright infringement. Opposition has also come in the form of Stephen Fry
, who has defended non-commercial piracy, supported TalkTalk's Don't Disconnect Us campaign and admitted to using BitTorrent to download episodes of House
and 24
.
In 2009 a on-line survey undertook by Harris Interactive on behalf of the BPI that of 3442 people
questioned in the UK, 1012 reported downloading music from peer to peer networks, which shows the level of file sharing occurring in the UK.
A survey by XTN Data in 2006 found that of the 1000 people interviewed 28% admitted to have downloading copyrighted material without paying for such material.
This has had a large impact on the sales of music and movies
Impact of illegal downloading on the film industry
The advent of advanced technology that allows broadband Internet access on personal computers has made the illegal downloading of films increasingly common....
in the UK, single sales for example were around 78 million for 1998 yet this figure had decreased to a mere 8.6 million by 2008, with illegal downloading being seen as responsible for part of this decline. However, some analysts believe that the downturn in sales is more to do with the industry focusing investment on poorer quality short-lived acts, and a failure to embrace modern technology to distribute music electronically at a reasonable price.
Relevant UK legislation
There are government acts in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which are applicable to or breached by file sharing activity, these are the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 , also known as the CDPA, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 15 November 1988. It reformulates almost completely the statutory basis of copyright law in the United Kingdom, which had, until then, been...
and the Digital Economy Act 2010
Digital Economy Act 2010
The Digital Economy Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating digital media. Introduced by Peter Mandelson, Lord Mandelson, it received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010, and came into force on 8 June 2010 The Digital Economy Act 2010 (c. 24) is an Act of the Parliament of...
.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 , also known as the CDPA, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 15 November 1988. It reformulates almost completely the statutory basis of copyright law in the United Kingdom, which had, until then, been...
aims to protect the intellectual rights of the creator or copyright holder. File sharing breaches this act since the copyright has not permitted the sharing of such material.
The Digital Economy Act changed the penalties related to infringement of copyright. The legislation is concerned more directly with copyright on the internet than previous legislation that had been more concerned with commercial abuse of copyright.
Action to prevent illegal file sharing
Institutions such as the British Phonographic IndustryBritish Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
(BPI) sought help from the government to force internet service providers to identify those users suspected of file sharing and to take action against these on behalf of the BPI, which suspected many of these users to be infringing copyright.
With the backing of the government this was made part of the Digital Economy Act and passed into law after a Parliamentary debate in April 2010.
As a result of this pressure on the ISP's, the six main ISP's of BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
, Virgin, Sky
Sky
The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes...
, Tiscali
Tiscali
Tiscali may refer to:*Tiscali, an archaeological village of Nuragici people, in Sardinia, Italy, notable because it was completely inside a huge cavern*Tiscali SpA, a telecom company based in Italy*Tiscali TV , multiple uses...
, Orange and Carphone Warehouse will become responsible for the notification of users identified by the BPI through their IP address. This notification will be that of a cease and desist which would threaten legal action if such behaviour continued or if a compensation payment was not made by the defendant. Following the governments backing of the BPI in this measure the movie industry has also signed up to also seek action against those it has determined to be persistent infringer's of its copyrights. Further steps can also be taken by ISP's if the identified users continue to breach copyright, such as the restriction of the bandwidth available to them or even total disconnection and possible bans or suspensions from the internet.
However amendments, proposed in 2010, to the Digital economies Bill by the industry watchdog, Ofcom, will see some ISP's become exempt. Those ISP's which would become exempt would be those classed as smaller providers with user subscriptions of under 400,000, also to be exempt would be those who provide access for mobile broadband users due in part to the way in which this service operates. Exemption for these ISP's will possibly see numbers of users transferring from the major ISP's to smaller ones, especially those users who wish to engage in illegal behaviour. One of the main reasons for seeking exemption is the costs and time-scale required for smaller ISP's to put in place measures for the monitoring.
The monitoring software used by ISP's to check on internet activity of suspected illegal file sharers has itself been called into question, citing concerns over the legality of such software and the privacy issues that is use raises. Virgin wish to use new software called, Cview, which monitors activity and compares any downloaded material to a database of copyrighted material in order to determine if there has been an infringement, as of 2010 this software is being evaluated for suitability by the European Commission and Ofcom with particular attention paid to whether this software breaches privacy or data protection directives.
The music industry in Britain was not the only industry to seek action against illegal file sharing, the computer games industry, worth an estimated £2billion, also sought compensation for copyright infringement. Five major games companies; Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
, Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
, Topware Interactive
TopWare Interactive
TopWare Interactive is a video game publisher and developer located in Paradise, Nevada.TopWare Interactive started out in 1995 as a video game publishing subsidiary of the TopWare CD Service AG based in Mannheim, Germany— which included a inhouse development studio based in Poland. In...
, Reality Pump and Techland
Techland
Techland is a Polish video game developer, founded in 1991 by Paweł Marchewka. They are most famous for developing Call of Juarez, a Western-themed first-person shooter, released for Microsoft Windows in 2006, and later ported to Xbox 360 in June 2007...
, have served notices to over 25000 UK internet users they feel have breached their copyright by downloading or sharing games on file sharing websites. These companies have demanded a payment of £300 in order to settle the matter out of court, warning that non payment will result in legal action. In what was a landmark case in terms of file sharing one company, Topware Interactive took a user, Isabella Barwinska, to court over copyright infringement on a game called Dream Pinball 3D, which had not only been illegally downloaded by Mrs Barwinska but also had been uploaded and shared by her to many other users. The court found in favour of Topware Interactive and imposed a penalty of £16,000 on Mrs Barwinska. Following this case Topware Interactive then began planning action against those internet users known to have accessed this game via Mrs Barwinska despite their being no financial gain involved for the defendant.
In July 2010 music company, Ministry of Sound, also served notices to internet users it claimed had breached its copyright by downloading music tracks. Notices were sent to around 2,000 users via London lawyers Gallant Macmillan demanding a compensation payment of around £350 in order to avoid legal action being taken against them, however many users have challenged these claims by the Ministry of Sound, stating either their innocence or challenging the legality of the action taken.
The BPI however do not openly support this method of mass mailing users, preferring rather to target specific users to be notified, those users it deems as persistent up loaders making copyrighted material to others via file sharing and persistent down loaders.
The BPI have also complained to Google about illegal downloads and the ease that these can be located or identified through its search engine, believing that Google has a responsibility to help prevent access to such material and that links to these should be removed. Although it should be noted that this material is not actually hosted by Google but through sites locatable through its use.
Opposition to legislation and prevention
There are groups which actively oppose the actions taken by institutions like BPI and the governments copyright policy, most of these groups are opposed to either the criminalisation of file sharers or the privacy infringements from internet monitoring. The Open Rights GroupOpen Rights Group
The Open Rights Group is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues, acting as a media clearinghouse service putting journalists in touch with experts, and by fostering a community of grassroots activists...
is one prominent example in the UK. These groups are opposed to the digital economy act.
Among ISPs
UK ISP TalkTalkTalkTalk
TalkTalk is a pay television, telecommunications and internet service provider company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
have openly stated that they will refuse to send warning letters to their customers, or hand over any of their personal information, even if it became a legal requirement for them to do so.
TalkTalk
TalkTalk
TalkTalk is a pay television, telecommunications and internet service provider company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
have stated that the "government's plans to punish people suspected of illegal downloading are an assault on human rights", and pledged to fight government anti-piracy laws. In 2010 TalkTalk launched a major campaign, Don't Disconnect Us, against government plans to disconnect connections suspected of repeat copyright infringement. Opposition has also come in the form of Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, who has defended non-commercial piracy, supported TalkTalk's Don't Disconnect Us campaign and admitted to using BitTorrent to download episodes of House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
and 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
.