[x-pubpol] UK Gov removes 'general appeal' rights for accused freetards

[Joly MacFie]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/06/gove_asks_ofcom_not_to_give_alleged_infringers_of_copyright_the_general_right_to_appeal/

An Ofcom spokesperson said that the government had asked it to "remove" the
right of internet service provider (ISP) subscribers to appeal against
receiving the letters if they had "any other reasonable grounds" to do so.

The draft code (74-page/365KB
PDF<http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/copyright-infringement/summary/condoc.pdf>)
listed grounds of appeal but did not include that general right. That right
appears to have originated subsequently, though it has never been officially
published and neither the regulator nor the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport (DCMS) would confirm it.

However a leaked copy of an apparently unredacted version of an Ofcom
document appears to suggest that Ofcom had previously included a right for
an alleged infringer to appeal if there were "any other reasonable grounds"
to do so under the draft code.

"The grounds set out in the Act are non-exhaustive and we reflected this in
our drafted Code by including an option to appeal on 'any other reasonable
ground'," the apparently unredacted version (39-page/419KB
PDF<http://www.fileserve.com/file/6MyxtZz>)
of Ofcom's *Digital Economy Act Online Copyright Infringement Appeals
Process – Options for Reducing Costs* report said. This version has*not* been
confirmed as authentic by the government or Ofcom.

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