Large UK ISPs will Fight Copyright Infringements

Being fashionably late (for a party that is almost over now - see "French Copyright Law - 165 Cases Reached Court; File Sharing Declines" - here), the UK regulator, Ofcom published a "draft code for consultation that would require large internet service providers (ISPs) to inform customers of allegations that their internet connection has been used to infringe copyright".

See also "UK Culture Minister Vaizey:"ISPs have their role to play to help consumers find legitimate content" - here and

"The code will initially cover ISPs with more than 400,000 broadband-enabled fixed lines – currently BT, Everything Everywhere, O2, Sky, TalkTalk Group and Virgin Media. Together these providers account for more than 93% of the retail broadband market in the UK. The draft code requires ISPs to send letters to customers, at least a month apart, informing them when their account is connected to reports of suspected online copyright infringement.

If a customer receives three letters or more within a 12-month period, anonymous information may be provided on request to copyright owners showing them which infringement reports are linked to that customer’s account. The copyright owner may then seek a court order requiring the ISP to reveal the identity of the customer, with a view to taking legal action for infringement under the Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988".

What seems to be a long process will start now and "Ofcom currently expects the first customer notification letters to be sent in early 2014"

See "New measures to protect online copyright and inform consumers" - here.