Ofcom Outlines UK's Three Strikes Piracy Policy
Ofcom's new draft code is out with several revisions to the original.
UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom has published a new draft code for implementing the Digital Economy Act (DEA). In the code published today, Ofcom explained how ISP's will adopt a three strikes approach to deal with customers accused of copyright infringement.
Initially covering ISPs with more than 400,000 broadbaned-enabled fixed lines (this includes BT, Everything Everywhere, O2, SKy, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media), these providers will be responsible for sending warning letters to customers informing them that their account is connected to reports of suspected copyright infringement. If a customer receives three letters in the space of 12 months, Ofcom says copyright owners may then request anonymous information showing which infringement reports are linked to the customer's account. After that, the copyright holder may seek a court order that would require the ISP to reveal the customer's identity and take legal action for infringement under the Copyright Designs and Patent Act of 1988.
The draft sees several revisions to the original draft code, which was published two years ago in 2010. The first relates to evidence-gathering procedures employed by copyright owners. These must now be approved by Ofcom, as opposed to by the copyright owners themselves, and Ofcom said it plans to sponsor the development of a publicly-available standard to promote good practice in this arena. The new draft also specifies that warning letters sent to customers must also detail just how many copyright infringement reports are connected to their account.
Lastly, Ofcom has changed the appeals process a little bit. Ofcom said today that customers will have the right to challenge allegations through an independent appeals body with transparent, accessible appeals procedures. Subscribers will have 20 working days to appeal an allegation of infringement. Additionally, Ofcom has removed the ability for subscribers to appeal on any grounds. Subscribers must now do so on grounds specified in the Digital Economy Act.
Ofcom has said it will now consult on the revised draft code, which will be subject to review by the European Commission before being laid in Parliament at the end of this year. The watchdog expects the first warning letters to be sent out in early 2014.

No.
So that basically gives our information to copyright owners....NICE!
in fact, i hope PIPA and SOPA bills get approved, censor everything, only then, people will realise how much the goverment and corps are fu**ing us and do something about rather than useless pacific protests
This effectively does nothing but force English torrent users to switch ISP's once a year.
At that point, I shall be taking this to court!
So many computers are logged on my network in the average week, some with torrent clients running on them! They do not belong to me, they are just being repaired by me!
Simply put.... an IP Address does not mean a person!
I am prepared to fight that in court!
What about open public wifi, how exactly are they going to police that, or does it mean an end to open wifi!
"After that, the copyright holder may seek a court order that would require the ISP to reveal the customer's identity and take legal action for infringement under the Copyright Designs and Patent Act of 1988."
Go on, try it on, see you in court Mofo's, you prove i am the one who clicked the download button!
Problem is, many people will fall for this fleecing tactic, which is wrong..
finally, I do not pirate, don't feel the need! Not really anything out there I want that bad that I cant buy anyway.
Now Obama on the other hand, that would be a proponent of PIPA and SOPA bills by his affiliated party. I haven't looked into the politics enough though to see if Obama is the type of man that would sign these sort of things into law.
Just enjoy the internet as it is for now. This definitely can NOT last forever. Believe me in how I know. I have used computer telecommunications ever since BBSes and remember how underground the piracy scene could be at times. I still remember when it was scoffed at to submit pirated data to Usenet and now look how much is there. Something changed that can quite easily be changed back.
Don't expect that for more than 10 years from now we will still have huge p2p sharing and big usenet. This is all going to come to a crashing stark halt one of these years. I'm not saying that I want that to happen though, I'm just looking at things how they once were and how I feel they are going to be. (I would rather it stay the way it is right now or actually I would like more anonymity that the dialup era gave although that wasn't 100% due to switched networks being more or less fairly easy to monitor.)
So that basically gives our information to copyright owners....NICE!
in fact, i hope PIPA and SOPA bills get approved, censor everything, only then, people will realise how much the goverment and corps are fu**ing us and do something about rather than useless pacific protests
Pacific protests? They're occupying the ocean now? 1%ers must be happy to hear that.
That's kind of the problem. Actual piraters can easily get around the laws, but some innocent grandma getting leeched by a neighbor may not even understand what it means and end up fined out of her retirement because she "was warned". It's kind of like the war on drugs, they don't put the masterminds behind bars, they put the minor dealers on the street trying to make a living behind bars. This is a war that will never end and hurt far more innocent than guilty.
The mistake that's commonly made is that you have a right to download something copyrighted just because you own A copy of the material. Logically, you would be correct in thinking you are not taking anything because you own a copy already of the same material. Legally, it is not so black and white. The laws have not been adjusted properly to deal with all the new methods of media distribution available today. You only purchased the right to your copy, not the right to the material itself. I cannot go grab a DVD off the shelf and take it just because I own the VHS. If you think you're right, good luck in court.
You didn't look into anything enough to know Obama stated he would veto SOPA/PIPA (election year after all), and just made a ridiculous partisan statement that Republicans would not allow it, even though Republicans are always business friendly. This country isn't run by Red and Blue anymore, it's run by green. Both sides are just there to put on a puppet show that our government isn't run by corporate interests.
Just take a look at this story. If the "copyright holders" had their way, they would likely have full control over arbitration and full transparency to everyone's personal data. They are not content with the actual legal systems in place, they want to judge and execute you on their own stage.
We won't go back to how things were 10 years ago, piracy is a way of life now. This is why strong measures have not been taken against it, the government is afraid of what will happen if they really crack down. They've got to ease it in slowly so the people don't see it coming.
had the same problem with my american ISP after i bought hurt locker and transformers revenge of the fallen due to DRM i could not watch them on my 2002 dvd player so i d/l the drm less copy and burned it to dics, got a letter from the isp 2 weeks later, i took my movies and receipts in hand and went to the local office asked for the person in charge of this mess, shoved my proof in their face told them if i ever got another letter regarding copyright problems not only was i going to list the MPAA/RIAA in my lawsuit but my ISP as well in my lawsuit i was getting drawn up.
i have since sued the MPAA and won on default as they never showed up in court to face my lawyer after they were served papers in their los angels california office. i have yet to receive damage awards for expenses, false criminal claims that damaged my reputation and caused me emotional distress ( i was so angry i was ready to have a heart attack despite being more fit than any one but olympic athletes the doctor at the intensive care unit said) and also for the cost to upgrade every device i own capable of playing their dvd product.
i was tempted to turn that into a class action lawsuit against the MPAA but the lawyer said i would probably get less $$$$$ out of it since my case was very simple open and shut he said from the other judges pre trial opinions. my doctors advice was to let it go and not worry about it any more before i wind up dead sooner rather than later. lulz
it will be a civil war you know, or the development of pirate internet, which again, would lead to a war.