Music Labels Take Eircom Ruling As Gospel, Warn Ireland’s Other ISPs To Adopt Three-Strikes
After their court action last month forced ISP Eircom to initiate a three-strikes procedure against broadband users downloading music illegally, the four major labels are now trying to convince Ireland’s other broadband providers to do the same.
SEE ALSO: Ireland Gets France’s Three Strikes; Eircom Will Boot Persistent File-Sharers
Irish Times says EMI, Sony (NYSE: SNE), UMG and WMG have written to companies including mobile operator 3 Ireland and hotspot outfit Bitbuzz warning of legal action within seven days if they don’t follow suit. The letter also hints of further action to come regarding the blocking of torrent trackers like The Pirate Bay.
After fighting the labels and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) in court for eight days, Eircom last month agreed to send two warning letters and then cancel service to customers downloading illegally. The labels said at the time they would take “all necessary steps to put similar agreements in place with all other ISPs in Ireland”—but the ruling only referred to Eircom. Now the labels are effectively claiming it set a legal precedent, just as the IFPI argues its legal victory in forcing three Danish ISPs to ban Pirate Bay access actually applies to all providers in the country.
But, as we have seen in cases across Europe, ISPs prefer not to accept blame for file-sharing: Ronan Lupton, chairman of Alternative Licensed Telecoms Operators (Alto) which represents telcos, says he will be calling for ISPs to be given mere “conduit status”, which would annul responsibility for their customers’ wrong-doing. Alex French, Bitbuzz’s finance and operations director, says he wants “a competent court finding that they have done something wrong” before shutting off a customer’s service and asks: “Is the music industry planning to become Ireland’s de facto internet censor?”
Last year European Union telecoms commissioner Vivianne Reding backed the European Parliament’s opposition to a French proposition to make a three-strikes policy legally compulsory for ISPs, much to the annoyance of Guy Bono, the MEP behind the plans.
(Photo: andrewhall)
Posted In: Entertainment, Music, Legal
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