Lord Mandelson, Business, Innovation and Skills Minister, has announced that the UK should restrict internet access to people who persistently download or fileshare illegally - in order to ensure that the UK's creative industries are able to flourish.
Speaking at the Government’s
C&binet (Creativity and Business International Network) Conference, in Hertfordshire yesterday, Lord Mandelson outlined plans to tackle unlawful downloads, including plans in the most extreme cases, to temporarily suspend individual internet accounts, block access to download sites and reduce broadband speeds. The measures are expected to be included in the Digital Economy Bill, expected in November 2009.
This is a similar system to that agreed by the European Parliament last week. An amendment has been adopted to the telecoms package directive under which Member States may restrict access to persistent illegal downloaders.
France has also recently adopted a "three strikes" law under which illegal filesharers and downloaders receive two warning letters. If these are ignored a judge can suspend the internet access for up to one year.
Marianne Schaffner, Linklaters IP partner and global sector leader of media and leisure, who attended the C&Binet conference, said:
"These recent legal developments must be welcome, as they constitute the first step to ensure that the value of innovation and the investments made by the creative industries are preserved and their IP rights can be better enforced. The answer however should not only be on a European level but on an international level, as the Internet has no borders."
For further information or to arrange an interview with Marianne Schaffner on this issue please contact:
Rupert Winlaw on (44 20) 7456 3219 / rupert.winlaw@linklaters.com
