The government may introduce new legislation to govern
the use of peer to peer (P2P) networks for sharing copyright
files.
The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
(BERR) revealed today that the government may legislate to outlaw
the use of P2P to share unlicensed copyright material.
"Legislation is among the options being considered," said a
spokeswoman.
BERR today published a
summary of responses to a consultation on how to deal with
illegal file sharing. Communications minister Stephen Carter said,
"We received some opposing views on other issues, including
regulation, reflecting the fact that this is a complex and
challenging problem.
"We are now examining what the best way forward is and will set
out the next steps in the interim
Digital Britain report later this month."
He said the responses pointed to a consensus on the need to
educate consumers about the economic importance of copyright
material and the damaging effect file sharing has on Britain's
creative industries.
"We have also seen agreement on the need for legal content to be
innovative, attractive and easily-accessible. And it is clear that
consumers' concerns about data protection and privacy must be
addressed."
The department launched the consultation on unlawful peer to
peer file sharing and its impact on the British arts and
entertainment industries last summer in response to a
recommendation of the 2006
Gowers review of intellectual property. It called for evidence
on the issues involved and invited views from rights holders,
internet service providers (ISPs), consumer organisations and the
public on options to tackle the problem.
The government's co-regulatory proposal would have given legal
footing to an
industry code of conduct agreed by the rights holders and
ISPs.