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Music publishers sue Cox for not doing enough to stop piracy
Large American internet service providers these days tend to operate under a "six strikes" approach to piracy -- they'll warn you if they catch copyright violations, but it's unlikely that you'll get the boot. However, that isn't good enough for BMG or Round Hill Music. The two music publishers have sued Cox Communications for allegedly refusing to forward notices demanding settlements for copyright violations. According to the claim, the cable giant went out of its way to treat these messages like junk mail, letting about 200,000 "repeat infringers" go scot-free. If the court agrees that Cox knowingly looked the other way, it could be in trouble. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires that networks have a policy for cutting off unrepentant pirates, and the lawsuit suggests that Cox doesn't respect that rule.
Comcast rumored to have new, less punitive anti-piracy measure in the works
The Copyright Alert System, more popularly known as the "six strikes" policy, hasn't exactly received a warm welcome thanks to the disciplinary measures it calls for (like throttled connection speeds). According to Variety, Comcast is currently developing a new way of dealing with piracy that's arguably less punitive than CAS. In the proposed system, users that have been flagged for illegal downloads via peer-to-peer file sharing services or using the BitTorrent protocol would be provided with links to legal means of accessing the same content through Comcast's own Xfinity service or third party providers like Amazon. Unlike CAS, this system doesn't seem to focus on penalties so much as it would gently nudge subscribers towards legal options. While it's not likely that the program is intended to replace CAS, it could potentially signal a shift away from an unpopular policy. Though little information is known about Comcast's plans at this time, we'll keep you posted as we learn more.
France mulls extending piracy laws to include streaming and direct downloads
ISPs in the US are just getting around to enforcing a "six strikes" policy against illegal P2P sharing, but France is now contemplating a crackdown on the streaming and direct downloads of pirated content. Hadopi, the government organization behind the country's existing "three strikes" law, released a new report that proposes websites take a page from YouTube's book and actively monitor content by using recognition algorithms and the like to take down things that are presumed illegal. If a site weren't to cooperate after a round of warnings, it might face penalties including DNS and IP blocking, domain name seizures and even financial repercussions that involve having their accounts with "payment intermediaries" (think PayPal) suspended. As for enforcement of this potential government mandate, the dossier posits that it could lean on internet service providers instead of hosting services, which according to EU law, can't be forced to conduct widespread surveillance. For now, these suggestions aren't being made policy, but Hadopi is mulling them over. [Image credit: keith.bellvay, Flickr]
