UK MP releases anti-piracy discussion paper targeting ISPs
The UK’s incumbent MP Mike Weatherley, who acted as Intellectual Property Adviser to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, has released a proposal targeting internet service providers (ISPs).
The 18-page discussion paper, titled ‘Safe Harbour Provisions and Online Service Providers’ offers recommendations for the UK Government and the EU Commission based on Weatherley’s own experience as the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Intellectual Property from September 2013 to October 2014 and input from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the UK trade body BPI. In 2014, the MPAA and BPI,with four of the UK’s largest ISPs (BT, TalkTalk, Virgin, Sky), formed copyright alert system, the Creative Content UK (CCUK) scheme.
The report suggests a need for ISPs to “filter out infringing content and to provide more co-operation to rights holders when it comes todetecting infringement.”
“The fight against piracy is a difficult one and I believe we do need the ISPs to be part of the battle to protect creators’ rights, and protect against illegal activity. I hope I have achieved a balance of argument in this paper to stimulate debate,” said Weatherley.
Weatherley has called for an urgent review by the UK Government on nine recommendations:
Recommendation 1: The EU Commission should undertake to clarify the definition and scope of the term ISSP for the purposes of the Directive.
Recommendation 2: The wording of Safe Harbour provisions should be amended to ensure ISSPs are accountable for properly managing content on their sites.
Recommendation 3: There should be an urgent review, by the UK Government, of the various applications and processes that could deliver a robust automated checking process regarding illegal activity being transmitted.
Recommendation 4: Consider a change to Article 15 which better reflects the scope and capabilities of today’s (and future) technology. (eg. Where ISPs actively takie down multiple copies of the same work which are hosted on its services, not just the individual copy which is subject to the complaint).
Recommendation 5: ISSPs to be more proactive in taking down multiple copies of infringing works, not just the specific case they are notified of.
Recommendation 6: A ‘duty of care’ to be laid down as part of the forthcoming revision of the EU copyright legal framework.
Recommendation 7: Change the word ‘expeditious’ to ‘immediate’ (in Article 14(1) of the E-Commerce Directive) and define it narrowly and unequivocally.
Recommendation 8: In relation to CCUK, review the effectiveness of the ‘three strikes’ rule applied in the USA to notifications.
Recommendation 9: With the precedent now set via CCUK, review (probably by IPO) how else information collected by ISSPs can be used in the fight against piracy without breaking privacy for those using the internet legally.
Weatherley welcomes feedback to his personal email: [email protected] and said all replieswill be forwarded to the Intellectual Property Office and included in further submissions to the EU.
Meanwhile, Spain and Ireland are bolstering their stance against piracy. A court in Madrid has followed orders that are in place in the UK and Denmark with a ruling for ISPs to block their subscribers from accessing The Pirate Bay. Ireland’s second largest broadband provider, UPC, will introduce a ‘three strikes’ policy after the three majors handed down an injunction.
Locally, Australia'sforthcoming Copyright (Online Infringement) Bill 2015 proposes a Graduated Response (three-strikes) Scheme for copyright infringers and a website-blocking legislation for overseas websites contributing to online piracy. The Billis set to be enforced on September 1.