Digital Economy Bill leaves unanswered questions

Mark Harding, Intellectual Property Director, KPMG comments on the measures announced in the Digital Economy Bill today to tackle online infringement of copyright:

 

 "Overall there appears to be too much focus on policing the net rather than promoting digital enterprise and access.  Ultimately piracy measures alone will not solve the underlying issue of revenue models for content owners.

"While the Bill has at least brought some clarity around roles and responsibilities for the content owners and ISPs in the fight against file sharing, it leaves many unanswered questions regarding the precise implementation of the measures.

"A key area which remains undefined is how to measure the target of reducing file sharing by 70 percent.  In recent months file sharing activity has seen a reduction, which could well be due in part to the growing popularity of music streaming sites, particularly among young people, enabling those who simply want to access content rather than own it, to do just that. 

"The shift towards access rather than ownership is likely to make it difficult for Ofcom to identify where any reduction in file sharing is down to the notification system, or is due to consumers choosing to use new innovative sites rather than file sharing."Educating consumers about copyright on-line via the notifications is a welcome measure and taking legal action against those who have broken the law is also important, but the measures to disconnect people are also fraught with difficult implementation issues - will an individual be effectively disconnected from all ISPs or will they simply be able to move provider?  How long will the disconnection last?

"How this will be managed remains unclear and given that the content owners and ISPs have been unable to reach a consensus on the issue of file sharing for years, getting this system working quickly seems a rather tall order.”

 

20 November 2009

 

-ENDS-

 

For further information please contact:

Claire le Masurier, PR Manager, KPMG,  020 7694 8639 or 07795 074 360

 

About KPMG
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with 11,500 partners and staff.  The UK firm recorded a turnover of €2.2 billion in the year ended September 2008. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 148 countries and have more than 113,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. KPMG International provides no client services.