[November 11, 2008]

FAST IiS: FAST Supports Government Action On ISP Copyright Responsibilities; Federation responds to �Consultation on Legislative Options To Address Illicit Peer-to-peer File Sharing'

(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
RDATE:10112008

It's inevitable; the Government will have to act and introduce
appropriate legislation to halt the damage to the copyright industries
brought about by illicit P2P file sharing, according to the Federation
Against Software Theft: There must be a legislative backstop.

The call was made in response to the Department for Business Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform's consultation into the legislative options,
which was launched in July this year.

John Lovelock, Chief Executive of The Federation, stated: "A voluntary
approach would be the easiest solution but experience has shown that
such an approach may well not work, as it is dependent on a full
consensus being achieved; to date this has not been successful, despite
ongoing dialogue between rights holders and ISPs."

"A further consideration is that ISPs will be reluctant to take action
against their customers, thereby risking alienating and losing them.
Some regulatory requirements will inevitably be needed, as this will
take the decision out of the hands of the ISPs themselves. It is
unlikely to be a truly voluntary scheme," he added.

The consultation began in July 2008 and was "intended to set out and
gather views on a proposal for a co-regulatory approach that could be
adopted in order to facilitate and ensure co-operation between Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) and rights holders to address the problem of
illicit use of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing technology to exchange
unlawful copies of copyright material."

John Lovelock continued: "Allowing ISPs to �choose not to engage in the
self-regulatory arrangement' as detailed in this consultation document
would, to my mind, undermine the entire arrangement. By permitting ISPs
to �opt out' of the procedures, the so-called co-regulatory approach,
would create a two-tier system which would be far from satisfactory."

"We are therefore calling for maintaining the political will to require
ISPs to take some proper and active part in combating illicit file
sharing. One argument is that personal data relating to a given IP
address may be given to the rights holder on request, without a court
order being needed, which is arguably gold plating."

He added: "We also feel that the scope of the consultation is too
narrow, in that by concentrating on just P2P file-sharing there is a

risk of comparable issues relating to other technologies - which may
supercede P2P being overlooked. The time for talking and consultation
is over - it is time to keep the momentum!"

About FAST IiS

In September 2008 the Federation Against Software Theft and Investors
in Software joined forces to deliver a distilled, simplified and
unified view of software asset management (SAM) and software license
management (SLM) best practice to the end user community. The strength
of the two reputable brands encapsulates a holistic approach to driving
the professional use of software across the industry and the globe.

The Federation Against Software Theft was formed in 1984 making it the
world's first software anti-piracy organisation. The organisation is
not-for-profit limited by guarantee and wholly owned by its members,
and works on many fronts to promote the legitimate use of software and
protect its members' rights through education, enforcement, lobbying
and promoting standards and best practice in business.

CONTACT: Richard Merrin, Spreckley Partners Limited
Tel: +44 (0)20 7388 9988
e-mail: merrin@spreckley.co.uk
Jared Foley, Spreckley Partners Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)20 7388 9988
e-mail: foley@spreckley.co.uk

((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information
provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties.
Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at
http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to
info@m2.com)).

Copyright ? 2008 M2 Communications Ltd.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]

Discussions: