UK Media bosses call for piracy legislation

Valerie | 11 May 2009, 10:11

The Sunday Times reports that leading figures from Britain’s biggest media firms including c&binet ambassadors Lucian Grainge of Universal Music and Channel Four’s Andy Duncan have formed a “copyright sqaud” to advise Lord Carter on how to tackle online piracy ahead of publication of the Digital Britain Report on June 16th.

The six-man working group, which also includes Michael Lynton of Sony Pictures, Jeremy Darroch of Sky and Neil Berkett of Virgin Media are calling for draft legislation that will force internet service providers (ISPs) to collect data on repeat offenders which can be used to prosecute them, citing that uncertainty over legislation has delayed signing rights deals. However, ISPs have been reluctant to support legislation, arguing that that it raises privacy issues.

The news follows the recent Pirate Bay ruling which found the Swedish site guilty of helping to make copyright-protected content available to others, setting what many believe will be a precedent that will have far reaching implications in the content industry.

As the BBC notes:

“Content creators who are struggling to get consumers to pay for movies or music in a digital world are on the warpath. They’re telling ISPs and consumer technology firms that they must help plug the hole in the creative industries’ finances caused by file-sharing or copying. And they seem increasingly confident that governments will listen to their message.”

The message is clear that content creators believe ISPs have an important role to play in addressing internet piracy and must welcome the news that companies such as Virgin Media are championing this cause.