[A2k] 'Three-Strikes' Off Anti-Piracy Agenda In Spain

[Anne-Catherine Lorrain]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Interesting step from the Spanish government, knowing that Spain is
considered as one of the European countries having the highest rate of
"illegal downloading"...

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i8071e0d9c25cb6b8a3a704a620271a31
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'Three-Strikes' Off Anti-Piracy Agenda In Spain*
June 22, 2009 - Global
<http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/global.jsp>| Digital
and Mobile <http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital_mobile.jsp> | Legal
and Management<http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/legal_management.jsp>

By Howell Llewellyn, Madrid

Spain's cultural industry has accepted that the proposed disconnection of
Internet users who ignore warnings not to download illegally is no longer an
option. The about-turn by the Coalition of Creators and Content Industries
follows indications that the government will refuse to implement any kind of
"three-strikes" scheme.

But the Coalition, which includes sections of the music, film and software
sectors including 88-member labels body Promusicae, as well as collecting
societies such as the 95,000-member authors and publishers society SGAE,
still thinks a reduction in Internet access speed is feasible against
offenders.

*In his first public appearance as Coalition president, Aldo Olcese
acknowledged that users are "our current and future clientele," and that
punitive measures were out of the question. "We have no desire to
criminalize Internet users who download illegally," he said.*

Olcese was speaking just three days after Spanish Internet Service Provider
(ISP) association Redtel announced that it would refuse to hold more talks
with the Coalition, until the government comes up with a solution to piracy
in Spain.

The Coalition will now concentrate its anti-piracy message against the
activity of P2P BitTorrent tracker services. Olcese claimed that there were
now 200 such Web sites in Spain, compared to just 70 a few months ago.

The P2P problem in Spain is so bad that "it is no exaggeration to say that
Spain has become a paradise for global piracy," he said.

Olcese added that the Coalition was still compiling information on the
sites' activities, but promised that "within a short space of time" the
Coalition would present the names of the 200 sites.

Olcese also said he was confident the government would move forward on its
anti-piracy measures. "I am convinced the government will do something and
soon," he said.

"I speak with [people from] the government every day, and I tell them their
problem is getting worse every week," he added. "But just as President Obama
recently announced steps to deal with piracy after consultations with
[culture industry] experts, I have absolutely no doubt that this government
will soon take steps after being convinced by experts [from the Coalition]."

Olcese added that the Coalition was willing to support the launch of a Web
site of "wide-ranging and abundant" legal cultural content "at competitive
prices" for users who wanted to obtain material legally. He said "this Web
site would begin operating the moment the government announces definitive
steps to tackle piracy."

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Anne-Catherine Lorrain
aclorrain@gmail.com
www.aclorrain.fr
www.tacd-ip.org/blog