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Government must "see sense" over file-sharing

By Barry Collins

Posted on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:11

Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone has called for the Government to come to its senses over the threat to disconnect illegal file-sharers.

Dunstone was speaking at an event hosted by Carphone's ISP TalkTalk, just yards away from the Houses of Parliament where the controversial Digital Economy Bill is being debated. He was joined by representatives from Which?, civil rights groups Liberty and the Open Rights Group, and the recently founded Pirate Party, all of whom are lobbying the Government to amend the proposed legislation.

If you feel someone has taken your intellectual property rights, please take them to court

"All we really want is for people to see the sense of what people are threatening to do to customers," Dunstone told the audience.

"We feel very, very simply that there are laws in the UK that protect intellectual property rights. If you feel someone has taken your intellectual property rights, please take them to court."

Dunstone's stance was supported by the Open Rights Group, which claims the proposal to disconnect persistent file-sharers is too draconian. "Disconnection is a very harsh and disproportionate punishment," Florian Leppla, a campaigner with the Open Rights Group told PC Pro. "A fine of £50 would be much more proportionate."

Leppla said there were several holes in the current legislation. "We're concerned that the subscriber will be liable for what other people who use the account do," he said, citing the example of a flat-share where multiple adults share the same connection. "I can't be held to account for not looking over their [flatmates'] shoulders and what they do on the internet."

The Open Rights Group also has concerns over due process. "It doesn't say you have a right to appeal," Leppla said of the current legislation. "If you have stolen something in a shop, you go to court and have the right to appeal."

Clampdown victim

That point was rammed home by Richard Evans, a researcher from Hull who has been accused of illegal file-sharing as part of the now notorious clampdown by legal firm Davenport Lyons. Evans is one of dozens of people that consumer group Which? claims has been falsely accused by the legal firm.

Evans was accused of downloading an adult movie by Davenport Lyons and was met with a demand for just over £500. He and his wife engaged a solicitor to fight the case, and since challenging the demand for compensation, haven't heard further from Davenport Lyons.

"They've got another four years to pick it up," Evans told PC Pro, who described the accusation as "bemusing" and "deeply worrying".

"As far as they're concerned, the onus is on you to show you didn't do it," he added.

Evans claims his ISP, Karoo, has also threatened to disconnect his broadband if he's successfully prosecuted - a more serious threat than most as Karoo is the sole fixed-line broadband provider in Hull.

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User comments

Yet another reason to...

not live in Hull.

By deekarma on 26 Jan 2010

He's appealing to the wrong group

If money makes the world go round, who do you think has the various parties in their pocket?

Odd that Lord Mandy was on a luxury yacht belonging to a certain banking family when he had his "raod to Damascus" conversion about file sharing.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne palled around with the very same Lord Mandy at the Corfu villa of the same banking family during the infamous "Yachtgate" affair.

Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world

By Lacrobat on 26 Jan 2010

Antifilesharing another way to steal money to many

‘Piracy Isn’t Killing Music’ Radiohead’s Guitarist Says

Last year, Radiohead expressed their growing discomfort with record labels that abuse copyrights for their own benefit, while harassing their fans. In a recent interview, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien said that he doesn’t believe piracy is killing the music industry, but that the industry will kill itself if it doesn’t adapt to the digital age.

In an attempt to take a stand against the labels, several well known artists including Radiohead formed the Featured Artists Coalition last year, a lobby group that aims to end the extortion-like practices of record labels and allow artists to gain more control over their own work.

Radiohead and others are unhappy with the fact that the labels, represented by lobby groups such as the RIAA and IFPI, are pushing for anti-piracy legislation without consulting the artists they claim to represent. Radiohead, who used BitTorrent to leak one of their songs, went as far as being willing to show up as a witness against the RIAA in court.

In a new MIDEM interview, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien stands up for file-sharers once again, stating that piracy is not killing the music industry in his view.

O’Brien is no stranger when it comes to piracy. “There’s a very strong part of me that feels that peer-to-peer illegal downloading is just a more sophisticated version of what we did in the 80s, which was home taping,” he said, something the music industry strongly discouraged at the time.

“If they really like it, some of them might buy the records,” he said, adding that if they don’t buy the albums they might buy a concert ticket, t-shirt or other merchandising.

“I have a problem about it when people in the industry say ‘it’s killing the industry’, it’s the thing that’s ripping us apart’,” O’Brien said, adding: “I don’t believe it actually is.”

According to O’Brien the music industry is using analogue business models in a digital age. “You’ve got to license out more music, more Spotifys, more websites selling more music. You’ve got to make it slightly cheaper as well to get music in order to compete with the peer-to-peers.”

Radiohead’s guitarist says he’s surprised that the music industry is still struggling with the digital transition, and urges the labels to “move quicker” and get their content out there at a fair price.