Music firms take Eircom to court over downloads

March 11th, 2008

I read the following in the Examiner and on Digg today about the Music Industries trying to force Eircom to filter my internet connection and limit my bandwidth.

A) Why should any ISP monitor traffic. I don’t want anybody monitoring any of my activies be they on the internet or elsewhere. I value my privacy. Not that I have anything to hide mind I just don’t trust the competence of the people holding this data.
Also I download legal files using torrents etc. so why should I suffer downloading these files because people choose to use that technology to download copyrighted material?

B) Why is downloading movies “hogging bandwidth”? I paid for my DSL line. Why shouldn’t I use it. I think this is why this action will never win. If Eircom limit the bandwidth you can use for torrents etc. people won’t need bigger, and more expensive connections, and Eircom will lose money.

So to save this money Eircom will fight tooth and nail. Which is good news for the rest of us.

From The Examiner:
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As CD sales on the Irish market continue to plummet, showing losses of €44 million in the past six years, four of the largest record companies have taken Eircom to the High Court over illegal music downloads.

In the first case of its kind, the record companies are taking on the primary internet service provider rather than individual so-called pirates.

The music industry estimates that for every single legal download there are 20 illegal ones. Latest figures show that on a global scale 20 billion music files were illegally downloaded in 2006.

Because of illegal downloading and other market factors, the Irish music industry is experiencing “a dramatic and accelerating decline” in income, said Willie Kavanagh, managing director of EMI records (Ireland) and chairman of the Irish Recorded Music Association.

The Irish market for sound recordings suffered a decline in total sales from €146m in 2001 to €102m last year, a fall of 30%, he said.

A substantial portion of the decline in sales could be attributed to illegal downloading services and the increasing availability of broadband internet access here, said Mr Kavanagh.

He said legal actions brought against persons with the highest numbers of illegal files on their computers at specific times had proven very costly and time consuming. The companies believed selective legal action was not sufficient to safeguard their property rights.

The four leading record labels — EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner — have brought the High Court action aimed at compelling Eircom, as the largest broadband internet service provider in the state, to take specific measures to prevent its networks being used for the illegal free downloading of music.

The companies are challenging Eircom’s refusal to use filtering technology or other appropriate measures to voluntarily block or filter material from its network, which is being used to download music in violation of the companies’ copyright and licensing rights.

The proceedings arose after Eircom told the companies last October it was not in a position to run the filter software on its servers.

In his affidavit, Mr Kavanagh outlined measures by the record industry aimed at discouraging record piracy, including public awareness campaigns and legal actions against individuals engaged in piracy.

Mr Kavanagh said illegal downloaders come from all walks of life and the reality for many young people was that they have never known a position where they actually have to pay for sound recordings.

From Digg:
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It looks like the IFPI has shifted its focus from the individual filesharer to the ISPs. Last month, the IFPI won a court case in Denmark, and the ISP “Tele2″ was ordered to block all access to The Pirate Bay. Tele2 announced later that it will fight the decision.

Banning illegal filesharing from their network, voluntary or not, is in the best interest of ISPs according to the IFPI: “Illegal P2P file-sharing may have helped drive broadband subscriptions in the past, yet today these activities, particularly in respect of movies, are hogging bandwidth,” they state.

Entry Filed under: Opinion, Music, Ireland, Linux