[x-pubpol] USA: RIAA chief: ISPs to start policing copyright by July 12

[Joly MacFie]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57397452-261/riaa-chief-isps-to-start-policing-copyright-by-july-12/

by Greg Sandoval  March 14, 2012

Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon are among the ISPs preparing to
implement a graduated response to piracy by July, says the music
industry's chief lobbyist.

NEW YORK--The country's largest Internet service providers haven't
given up on the idea of becoming copyright cops.

Last July, Comcast, Cablevision, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable and
other bandwidth providers announced that they had agreed to adopt
policies designed to discourage customers from illegally downloading
music, movies and software. Since then, the ISPs have been very quiet
about their antipiracy measures.

But during a panel discussion before a gathering of U.S. publishers
here today, Cary Sherman, CEO of the Recording Industry Association of
America, said most of the participating ISPs are on track to begin
implementing the program by July 12.


Sherman told attendees of the Association of American Publishers'
annual meeting, that planners had always said that setting up an
antipiracy program like this could take a year. He told CNET following
his panel that the process isn't as easy as turning on a switch.Many
copyright owners say this could become the most effective antipiracy
program ever. Since ISPs are the Internet's gatekeepers, the theory is
that network providers are in the best position to fight illegal file
sharing. CNET broke the news last June that the RIAA and counterparts
at the trade group for the big film studios, had managed to get the
deal through--with the help of the White House.

"Each ISP has to develop their infrastructure for automating the
system," Sherman said. They need this "for establishing the database
so they can keep track of repeat infringers, so they know that this is
the first notice or the third notice. Every ISP has to do it
differently depending on the architecture of its particular network.
Some are nearing completion and others are a little further from
completion."

The program, commonly referred to as "graduated response," requires
that ISPs send out one or two educational notices to those customers
who are accused of downloading copyrighted content illegally. If the
customer doesn't stop, the ISP is then asked to send out "confirmation
notices" asking that they confirm they have received notice.

At that time, the accused customers will also be informed of the risks
they incur if they don't stop pirating material. If the customer is
flagged for pirating again, the ISP can then ratchet up the pressure.
Participating ISPs can choose from a list of penalties, or what the
RIAA calls "mitigation measures," which include throttling down the
customer's connection speed and suspending Web access until the
subscriber agrees to stop pirating.

The ISPs can waive the mitigation measure if they choose and not one
of the service providers has agreed to permanently terminate service.

The partnership with the major bandwidth providers was years in the
making and the deal pumped lots of confidence into the entertainment
sector. After the White House and state and federal lawmakers showed
support for the deal, leaders at the RIAA and Motion Picture
Association of America (MPAA) believed they had the momentum to get
anti-piracy legislation passed in Congress.

They were wrong of course. The Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP
Act were run off the rails mostly by the tech sector. It will be
interesting to see how the tech sector reacts once accused Internet
pirates begin having their Web access suspended.


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Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com
 http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
 VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org
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-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------
Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com
 http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
 VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org
--------------------------------------------------------------
-