Copyright Law

Irish ISP Begins Voluntary ?Three-Strikes?

By Jared Moya

Will initially target 50 suspected IP addresses per week, but the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) eagerly reminds the ISP it could supply thousands more.

Today Eircom, Ireland’s largest ISP with 40% of the broadband market, will formally begin disconnecting repeat accused file-sharers from the Internet, giving the country the undignified distinction of being the first European country to have a “three-strikes” graduated response system.

Worse still, the plan is voluntary.

Back in April of 2008, the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) filed a lawsuit against Eircom in order to try and hold it responsible for copyright infringing customers. The ISP initially refused, arguing that it had no legal obligation to monitor traffic on its network. But, after continued legal pressure, Eircom eventually decided to settle out of court, and voluntarily agreed to implement a ?three-strikes? policy targeting subscribers accused of illegal file-sharing.

Ireland?s Data Protection Commissioner, whose sole function is privacy rights protection, challenged that voluntary agreement on the grounds that termination could be based on offenses that haven’t been the “subject of investigation by an authorized body; and, further, without any determination having been made by a court of competent jurisdiction, following the conduct of a fair and impartial hearing, to the effect that an offence had in fact been committed.”

Those concerns were brushed aside last month by Justice Peter Charleston who countered that none of this was needed since no charges are being filed.

“Nor do I believe that it is necessary that there should be an investigation by an authorized body, or a determination made by a court of competent jurisdiction, following the conduct of a fair and impartial hearing, in order to determine that an offence has in fact been committed,” he said. “That is because, in reality, no one is accusing anyone of an offence.

However, after calling ?copyright is a universal entitlement,? without which artists wouldn?t be probably ?rewarded,? and therefore unable to ?keep body and soul together,? Justice Charleston predicated his approval of the scheme on the promise that the music industry would also target Eircom’s competitors to avoid giving other ISPs an unfair competitive advantage.

That effort is scheduled to begin with the case against UPC Ireland on June 10th.

As for Eircom’s “three-strikes” plan, beginning today it has agreed to process about 50 suspected IP addresses a week with the IRMA all to eager to remind the ISP it could supply thousands more. It’s apparently waiting to see what the ISP can handle. Let’s hope Eircom’s is in no hurry to begin threatening thousands of subscribers.

Stay tuned.

jared@zeropaid.com

Full post as published by ZeroPaid on May 24, 2010 (boomark / email).