U.K. ISPs, Rights Holders Partner to Address File-Sharing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 24, 2008 - 8:27am.

London - Six British Internet service providers have signed on to a voluntary code of conduct -- in the face of looming legislation -- that will see them send hundreds of thousands of letters to suspected illegal file-swappers and work with music and other rights holders "towards a significant reduction in illegal filesharing." U.K. ISPs Virgin Media, BSkyB, Carphone Warehouse, BT, Orange and Tiscali are party to the agreement, which came after negotiations facilitated by the U.K.'s Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), and also includes record label trade group the BPI, and the Motion Picture Association of America.

"This MOU represents a significant step forward, in that all ISPs now recognize their responsibility to help deal with illegal filesharing," said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor.

"This MOU will help to create an environment in which such new digital services models can flourish."

Under the memorandum, the ISPs will send letters to those pegged by the BPI as suspected illegal file-swappers.

Beyond that, the parties pledged to work with U.K. regulator Ofcom "to identify effective mechanisms to deal with repeat offenders."

The BPI has endorsed a "three strikes" law similar to one recently enacted in France, where repeat file-swappers' accounts are now terminated.

"The UK agreement is a big step towards reaching a solution to online piracy, and it shows that the process of engaging ISPs that was set in motion in France last year is gathering real momentum internationally," said John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a record label trade group.