Ofcom map out 3 strikes for illegal file sharing

Communications regulators Ofcom have outlined plans for how the ‘3 strikes’ rule will be applied to illegal file sharers in the UK.

The proposed code of practice will be integrated into the Digital Economy Act, which was passed in Parliament during the wash up period before the general election this year.

Under the proposed scheme, copyright holders will supply the IP addresses of customers suspected to be illegally downloading material to the seven major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the UK on a regular basis, constituting a ‘Copyright Infringement Report’.

It will then be up to the ISPs to send initial warning letters and start the ‘Graduated response’ system outlined in the Digital Economy Bill. The ISPs involved in the scheme include BT, Virgin Media and Sky.

If three such Copyright Infringement Reports are filed against an individual, the IP address will be added to a central database and the copyright owners have the right to then launch legal proceedings to reveal the identity of any user on the list, and then sue that user directly for copyright infringement.

The information will be cross referenced in the database, so that copyright owners will be able to see if a user is also infringing on the copyright of other companies, building up an overall picture of the most persistent offenders.

The proposals have not yet outlined what the appeal process will be for those accused of copyright infringement. Furthermore, Ofcom have made it clear that ‘technical measures’ and disconnection from the Internet would not be enforced without the final decision of the Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt.

Consultations on the draft proposals will now begin, with Ofcom anticipating that measures will come into effect during 2011.

In related news, the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) this week claimed that high profile file-sharing site Limewire had not done anything to operationally change its services since a landmark ruling last month. A summary judgement from a US judge found that the Company were liable for inducing copyright infringement by providing file-sharing software and services.