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DEA review ruling: Lots of comment

By | Published on Thursday 21 April 2011

Houses Of Parliament

So, needless to say, entertainment industry bods of all varieties lined up yesterday morning to welcome the previously reported judicial review ruling with regards the copyright section of last year’s Digital Economy Act, in which judges rejected claims by both BT and TalkTalk that the new legislation, which paves the way for a three-strikes system in the UK, was in conflict with European laws, and that it had not be sufficiently scrutinised by parliament.

Speaking for the UK record labels, BPI boss man Geoff Taylor told CMU: “This judgment gives the green light for action to tackle illegal downloading in the UK. It confirms that the DEA is proportionate and consistent with European Law. Shareholders and customers of BT and TalkTalk might ask why so much time and money has been spent challenging an Act of Parliament to help reduce the illegal traffic on their networks. It is now time for BT and TalkTalk to work constructively with Government and with rightsholders to implement the Digital Economy Act”.

Meanwhile, Frances Moore of global record industry trade body IFPI said: “This welcome news from the UK comes as policymakers worldwide are increasingly tackling the problem of online piracy. New Zealand passed new legislation to tackle digital copyright infringement last week and countries from France to South Korea already have such laws in place. We are optimistic of further positive legislative developments in other jurisdictions, including the European Union which is currently reviewing its Enforcement Directive”.

Meanwhile speaking for the film industry, David Puttnam, in his role as President of the Film Distributors’ Association, said: “The DEA will help the industry to conduct a mass consumer education programme so that internet users are made aware when they have accessed an illegal site, and given information about legitimate online offerings. I am confident this will help to repair the serious damage online copyright infringement has caused, and continues to cause to the UK’s creative industries. In doing so, it also reduces the threat to the many thousands of jobs that the creative industries support”.

And Lavinia Carey, Director General of the British Video Association, added: “That Mr Justice Parker has ruled in favour of copyright owners demonstrates that the DEA offers a fair, proportionate and entirely reasonable way to help promote a change in behaviour and point people to the legal sources of video entertainment through the notice sending process. Several other countries are adopting this measure and it would be bad for Britain’s creative industries to be left behind more forward thinking nations who are supporting their creative economies at this difficult time of transition towards increased digital consumption during this period of recession”.

From the other side of the fence, BT issued a statement responding to yesterday’s ruling, saying: “We are disappointed with the outcome of the judicial review. We are reviewing this long and complex judgment. This was always about seeking clarity on certain points of law and we have to consider whether this judgment achieves these aims”.

Meanwhile, Peter Bradwell from the Open Rights Group, which has campaigned against the DEA from the start, said: “It is important to remember that this is not a judgement on whether the Digital Economy Act is good public policy. We still believe that if enacted the Act will hurt people’s privacy and access to the internet for no proven gain. We hope that BT and TalkTalk will appeal and we will support them if they do”.

The usually mouthy TalkTalk is yet to formally respond to the judicial review ruling, though the company has previously vowed to pursue every possible legal avenue to block the introduction of a three-strikes style system in the UK, so further action can probably be expected.



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