Maximum fine set at £50,000 for illegal file-sharing

A maximum fine for copyright infringement has been set as part of the government's Digital Economy Bill. It was confirmed this morning persistant illegal downloaders could stand to face a fine of £50,000 if they ignore cautions sent out by their internet service providers.

This tactic for combating piracy doesn't come without some responsibility from UK broadband providers though. Internet service providers will be obliged to do their bit to combat copyright infringement by sending notifications to anyone they suspect of taking party in illegal file-sharing. Providers will also be under obligation to make a note of the number of notifications a user has received and send this information to rights holders, such as record companies. It will then be the rights holders' decision to apply for a court order against that individual.

Minister for Digital Britain, Stephen Timms has confirmed unlawful file-sharing will not be made a criminal offence, so there would be no grounds for a jail sentence even for the most active of web pirates with £50,000 being the harshest penalty.

Speaking on the government plans for disconnection at a morning briefing, Timms explained: “When a content rights holder indentifies that somebody is doing things they shouldn't be doing, their internet service provider (ISP) will send them a letter telling them they shouldn't be doing it. If that process proves to be insufficient then we have the abiligy to put in place these technical measures. Among the technical measures, temporary account suspension is a possible temporary measure.”

The Department for Business Innovation & Skills has confirmed the cost of the notification process would be shared between the telecoms regulator, Ofcom and the individual internet service provider. Watchdog, Ofcom is being given the freedom to decide on a fixed charge for written notifications.

But Nicholas Lansman, secretary general of the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA), gave some strong opposition to elements of the proposed legislation. Speaking on behalf of the long established UK trade association, he said: "ISPA is extremely disappointed by aspects of the proposals to address illicit filesharing. This legislation is being fast-tracked by the Government and will do little to address the underlying problem."

Mr Lansman continued: "Rather than focusing blindly on enforcement, the Government should be asking rightsholders to reform the licensing framework so that legal content can be distributed online to consumers in a way that they are clearly demanding."