Warning to all copyright enforcers: Three strikes and you're out

"You see, the big copyright companies – record labels, broadcasters, film studios, software companies – are lobbying in the halls of power around the world (including Westminster) for a three strikes rule for copyright infringers. They want to oblige internet service providers (ISPs) to sever the broadband links of any customer who has been thrice accused of downloading infringing material, and to oblige web-hosting companies to terminate the accounts of anyone accused of sticking infringing material on a web server three times.

"They're not even proposing that this punishment should be reserved for convicted infringers. Proving infringement is slow and expensive – so much so that the Motion Picture Association of America just filed a brief with the US court considering the appeal of Jammie Thomas, a woman sentenced to pay $222,000 in fines for downloading music, in which the trade association argued that they should never have to prove infringement to collect damages, since proof is so hard to come by."

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• Interview with Pirate Party Leader: "These are Crucial Freedoms"(Jun 16, 2009)
• Are the Pirates in the Vanguard of a New Politics?(Jun 08, 2009)
• The RIAA Has Got to Stop(May 20, 2009)
• The War on Sharing: Why the FSF Cares About RIAA Lawsuits(May 14, 2009)
• Killing the Roach: The Incredibly Illogical, Fundamentally Odious Billable Hour(Apr 13, 2009)
• Google: Most DMCA Takedown Notices Illegitimate(Mar 20, 2009)
• How To Turn Customers Into Pirates(Mar 03, 2009)
• Digital Copy: A Feature That's no Feature(Dec 08, 2008)
• RIAA Targets Transplant Patient Ciara Sauro(Dec 08, 2008)
• Copyright Office Should Right DMCA Wrongs in Rulemaking(Dec 03, 2008)
• U of Tennessee Blocked P2P Sites Before RIAA Law(Nov 20, 2008)
• Cory Doctorow: Why I Copyfight(Nov 09, 2008)