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Irish ISP Accused Of Copyright Violations Agrees To Implement Three Strikes
from the settle-me-this dept
Last year, the IFPI sued Irish ISP Eircom for copyright infringement. This was quite a leap. While the IFPI, RIAA and other such organizations had been pushing ISPs to filter file sharing or cut off file sharers via a three strikes approach, this was the first time that an ISP was being sued for being actually liable for the infringement as well. The "evidence" appeared to be some internal emails where Eircom employees joked about piracy. That seemed like a stretch... but rather than go through a full lawsuit, it appears Eircom has settled. Reader eoinmonty points us to the news that Eircom has agreed to implement a three strikes policy as a part of the settlement. Interesting that this comes just days after the neighboring UK announced that it will not require three strikes policies from UK ISPs. Of course, now the IFPI and the record labels have a framework: sue ISPs, and then push them to implement three strikes as a part of the settlement.
Reader Comments
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The record Labels are at strike 1,000,000,000 or more, FUCK THEM!
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So the ISP makes a mistake (though, since the root of the joke is that piracy gives musicians less money, I don't see how that could be construed to mean that piracy is good) and its customers are punished?
Sounds fair...
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EU?
Isn't Ireland part of the EU? Didn't the EU deem the 3 strikes rule a violation of rights?
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Re: EU?
I think you're right. I'm going to double check and call Eircom if you're correct!
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Re: Re: EU?
Doh!
http://techdirt.com/articles/20081201/0245052983.shtml
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Re: Re: Re: EU?
Pushed though heavily by Sarkozy, who incidentally happens to have a celebrity recording artist as a wife...
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Re: EU?
The EU provision is not law --- it is an amendement by the European Parliament to EU legislation which has not passed yet. Also (tho' I may be wrong) I think it only makes it unlawful for an EU /government/ to mandate ISPs to implement a 3-strikes type approach. It doesn't say anything about circumstances in which ISPs can decide for themselves whether to cut users off in accordance with their T&Cs. (I think --- I may be wrong about this.) That said, I suspect that 3-strikes is unlawful under the ECHR, even if implemented "voluntarily" by an ISP. For my part, if my ISP implemented this sort of policy, I would do what "Irish immigrant" has done, i.e. change ISP.
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I ordered a broadband package with Eircom yesterday!
I moved to Ireland last week and the only ISP available in my area is Eircom. I have used Bit Torrent frequently to gain access to many legal downloads such as open source softwar and independant music and films.
As a regular Techdirt reader though I know I can look forward to being wrongly accused and disconnected at the IFPI's whims!
Why can't Eircom focus their energy in providing me with a better product? €60 ($79 USD) for a download speed "upto" 7Mb and a 50Mb cap....and I'm being forced to take a phone line. Very, very poor!!
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Baseball
This just in:
MLB is filing a suit against the entertainment industry claiming trademark infringement for the use of "Three Strikes"
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Eircom no more!
Well, it has taken me over an hour but I have managed to find another ISP in my area. I've now cancelled my Eircom order and placed a new order with this other ISP!
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Re: Eircom no more!
Make sure to let Eircom know why you cancelled. I'm not personally a customer of theirs, but I still wrote to them saying I would now never consider signing up to their service as a result of this ruling. If enough people do the same, hopefully this will raise eyebrows.
I've also already written to ComReg (Ombudsman for the telecommunications in Ireland) and the Minister for Communications & Energy, as this decision effectively removes a person's access to the internet at the whim of a commercial entity.
Let it also be noted, that the reports on this story note that the record labels will be using the services of a 3rd party to look for IP addresses infringing. Surely there's a vested interest on the part of this 3rd party to ensure that they find as many IP addresses as possible!
Saying that, when Eircom get the first list from the record labels, I can imagine they're going to balk at the number of paying customers they're going to have to cut off!
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The relevant proposed EU provision (Amendment 138 to a set of directives called the Telecom Package) reads as follows:
"that no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities, notably in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on freedom of expression and information, save when public security is threatened where the ruling may be subsequent."
so (on my reading) it probably *would* make Eircom's action unlawful, BUT first, the package would have to be voted for with this amendment (not certain: the EU Council is against it), *and* it then would have to be ratified into Irish law.
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Eircom was once state owned and now owned by some Aussie invesntment firm. Most of the people who work there are still work as if they are doing some favour to some one by visiting the office. they dont care even if all their customer leaves!
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They won't need to try this tack in the UK soon
If the UK Government adopts the provisions of the Carter Report (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/29/digital_britain_tax_quango_and_enforcement/) there will be an ISP tax to fund a Government body to look at how to make ISPs sell the souls of their subscribers to the recording industry who will then be helped by that Govt. body to batter their subscribers into being nice to the labels and paying over the odds for the inconvenience of Govt. backed DRM!
Please Techdirt, some wisdom and insightful comment on this sorry state of affairs!
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Eircom are a company who's whole income structure is based around fleecing their customers. They caved in so easily because they assume that their customers are old Irish mentally inclinded idiots (not so anymore). They are not in touch with their customers. I for one will be canceling the home internet and personally I don't even live in Ireland anymore. They are good for nothing, life sucking *****. Service is lame and it costs the earth. No service in densely populated areas in the countryside close to Dublin (
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close to Dublin (
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As a service provider they are 50 years behind civilised countries in terms of speed. The are finished HA HA HA. This makes my day, I can't wait to cancel. I might even change to BT or some one else in spite. Their customers are going to drop rapidly and soon they will be asking the Dáil Éireann for a bail out. Bring it on Eircom cause you signed your own dead warrant. Signed : A one time customer
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Internet Cafe
Ok..so I own an internet cafe in the midlands. Now alot of people come in here with laptops. Now I can block all the PC's from P2P websites...but I can't stop someone from plugging in their laptop and downloading whatever they want. This is going to cause major problems for me ....
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This Curious Rollover .... stinks of a setup
there is simply no way IFPI could ever have won this ridiculous case, so why would Eircom settle on these terms, except for an ulterior and probably perverse political motive?
It looks like they consider themselves (still) a 5th branch of government, whose job it is to extort, penalise and harrass their captive 'service recipients' ... but they will very soon find the users voting with their feet on this one.
Good riddance to you, Eircom, enjoy a richly deserved bankruptcy!
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