Would it not be easier just to bung the RIAA/MPAA the £500m to go away? Oh no wait, the rapacious scumbags would just keep coming back like the wastrels that they are.
UK broadband consumers face a £500m anti-piracy bill
The Government has admitted the effort to combat online piracy, using plans proposed in the Digital Economy Bill, will leave consumers footing a bill for £500 million.
The Digital Economy Bill will require internet service providers to send out warning letters to customers suspected of downloading copyright material legally. Then, if the customers ignores the letter and continues illegally download their broadband connection will be throttled to slower speeds or cut-off altogether. Estimates suggests these steps will add on £25 a year to a UK broadband subscription.
Breaking down the total cost, ministers have revealed the warning letters alone will add on an extra £1.40 per subscription and could potentially lead to 40,000 households across the UK sacrificing their internet connection.
On the flip-side the Bill has predicted, as a result of tighter piracy measures, an extra £1.7 billion will be generated in extra sales for the film and music industry over the next decade. The Government also hopes to collect £350 million in additional VAT.
Speaking on the costings for implementing the anti-piracy measures a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: “Many of the figures in the impact assessment for the Digital Economy Bill are expressed in ranges and some of the costs will be borne by the rightholders and some by the internet service providers. The overall benefits to the country far outweight the costs.”
Additionally, a spokesman from the BPI commented: “It is in everyone's interest that ISP's statutory obligations can be discharged as cost efficiently as possible – particularly those law-abiding broadband customers who currently carry the burden of infringers.” He added: “We are confident that those costs will be a mere fraction of stratospheric sums suggested by some internet service providers, and negligibly small when set against their vast annual revenues.”
A number of internet service providers including TalkTalk and BT have called on the Government to reassess the plans put forward in the Digital Economy Bill.
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An extra £1.7 billion will be generated in extra sales for the film and music industry? Money from who? Thieves that download illegal entertainment will never pay for films or music. There is no fun in that for them. When this money doesn't pure into the entertainment industry' pocket they will be demanding a life sentences for illegal downloading and the money will still not pure into their greedy hands.
There are many people that would accept a thing for nothing but they would never pay for it. I've noticed many people reading free newspapers that have rarely paid for a newspaper. It proves honesty is the best policy because the honest are willing to pay for it. The rest won't it for free.
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That's ridiculous , subscription prices should not be affected at all by this bill , its not fair and its not practical to ask users to pay for the miss deeds of others!. The industry's are still making billions in sales.. and the government want the public to pay more to help them.. with the current economic climate?. Let the providers choose if they want to implement these restrictions, and the ones that do can, will work closer with the music industry , clamp down on pirates and get better deals for their subscribers. Don't let it affect the people who chose not to download illegally.
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Why the heck should I as a user or my ISP as my supplier have to fork out to support a bunch of money grabbing losers and there friends in a dying government. If the BPI and their buddies in the RIAA want to post letters all over the place then let them pay for the stamps. Will the BPI be after the electricity generators too? They supply the electricity that powers the modems, the servers and the computers that are used to illegally download their members' produce. When will they realize that thye lost the plot over a decade ago!
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I still dont see why the consumer should bail out the failing multi million dollar earning entertainment industry???
And why if i buy something should i not be allowed to pass it on after ive had my use of it??? Why should i be branded a criminal if i buy a CD then give it to my brother who gives it to his friend who gives it to etc..etc..??
This bill is more robbery from consumers who have already paid their hard earned money! If i buy a car does it then mean i can lend it or give or sell it ever again for fear of the car company losing profit then taking me to court?? True rubbish! Unbelievable! Yet again the law supports greed! Its disgusting!! -
So if these costs will be small (BPI statement), why is the music and film industry not paying for these measures. Until the Film and Music industry make their offerings avilable quicker and cheaper they will never stop piracy. the reason they want your internet cut off is so you have to go back to buying over priced hard copies.
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I work for the Open Rights Group, who are campaigning against the Bill - specifically the clauses which allow for disconnection without fair trial and for the secretary of business to change copyright law without putting it to Parliament first.
We're asking UK citizens to get in touch with their MP and explain to them how unfair this is, and possibly to meet them at one of their surgeries to discuss the specific problematic points of the bill in detail.
We believe that visits and letters from voters will help change the minds of MPs currently for the proposals; our representatives will then see that people care about their rights and, as their duty is to vote in accordance with constituents' opinions, we hope that they will then oppose the Bill.
If you want to know more details about the specific problems picked out by ORG and its supporters, don't know who your MP is, need help with wording a letter or arranging a meeting with them, drop me an email - katie@openrightsgroup.org - and I'll do my best to get you the information you need; all you have to do is the talking. -
Mandy's Meddling's will cost us all a lot more than £500 million.
If Mandy gets his bill into Law to enable Copyright material to be re-written under 'Section 17' of this proposed act. Once the Law is in force all Copyright Material will be deemed as 'Legally Compromised', hence made Nil in Void and as Copyright is matched to the Patent the Patent is also 'Legally Compromised' made Nil in Void.
I'm sure Bill Gates (for one) will be chuffed to bits when he finds this out. One of the biggest losers would be the Drug companies as all their products for sale or distributed in the UK during the time that law is in effect deems their rights Nil in Void.
Most all documents used in the transfer process of the Stock Markets are Copyright Protected so these to will be deemed as 'Nil in Void, legally worthless. The far ranging effects of Mandy's meddling will cause havoc as Share Prices are lost and Patents and Copyright's are lost. Even currency is Copyright Protected hence it also would become 'Nil in Void' worthless, non-legal tender.
Hence Mandy's so-called 'Digital Rights Act/ Digital Economy Bill' is legally seriously flawed.
Why will Mandy's law makes all Copyright material 'Legally Compromised' made Nil in Void you ask?
Click on link to read legal info and supporting links: http://carl-agpcuk.livejournal.com/
Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk
Digital Economy Bill sparks peers' protest
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/32849/Digital-Economy-Bill-sparks-peers-protest
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This is a joke. Last year (2009) the BPI said they lost £200m in digital piracy. The so called government want to spend £500m on sending out nasty letters to so called pirates and expects even more money to be spent by ISPs. When will this lunacy end?
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