[A2k] UK consultation on ISP's and copyright infringment

[Michelle Childs]

I was at a meeting in the UK yesterday, organized by Ian Brown,
where a  Government official from BERR (Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) set out the UK's current position.
BERR will publish a consultation document in April on  proposals  to
deal with  ISP's and  copyright infringement . The Govts preferred
option is for rights-holders and ISPs to voluntary agree  a method to
deal with this. However it looks like such an agreement is unlikely
and the UK Govt has threatened to introduced legislation. There are no
details of what such legislation would look like, but the UK has been
in close contact with the French about their ' three strikes' and you
are cut off proposal i.e a warning letter would be sent , then if
repeated temporary suspension, then final termination of the ISP
account.

The consultation would be 'genuinely open' and all options would be
considered from doing nothing to legislation. BERR is well aware that
this is a highly controversial area.  If issued in April the
consultation would run fro 12 weeks with the final proposals to
Ministers in the autumn. If it was decided legislation was needed they
have two options. 1) If only secondary legislation is necessary
( i.e   a relatively quick UK legislative procedure that  means it
does not need the full scrutiny of  Parliament ) then the required
legislation could be in place by Spring 2009.  2) If 'proper'
legislation is needed,  i.e  a Bill in the House of Commons, then it
is not clear when such legislation would happen, as it would have to
fight for Parliamentary time with other Govt priorities.

At the same meeting there was an excellent presentation on some of the
legal issues raised by a three strikes approach which I am hoping Ian
can make available by a link.  He or I'll will post later if possible.
Michelle
---------
Michelle Childs
Head of European Affairs
Knowledge Ecology International
michelle.childs@keionline.org

"The world we have made, as a result of the level of thinking we have
done thus far, creates problems we cannot solve at the same level of
thinking at which we created them=94  Albert Einstein