Digital Economy Act

On the 8^th June 2010 the Digital Economy Bill came into force. This is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating digital media and was introduced by Lord Mandelson. This act established a law, which aims to make it much easier to track down and sue persistent users of illegal downloading.

Infringers of this law will receive a letter notifying them of their infringement of the law and will be warned that if they continue this behaviour legal action will be taken. If they are caught again they are given another warning and if they then continue they will receive a final letter and then if they do not stop then their ISP can legally give the rights holder, the owners illegally downloaded item, a copyright infringement list. The rights holder can then approach a judge to gain a court order to identify some or all of the subscribers on the list and then take legal action against the illegal downloader.

This act is made to protect record companies and their bands but there are actually bands and musicians out there who oppose this act. Such people like Kate Nash, who’s career stemmed from free downloads from the website Myspace, and Billy Bragg are opposed to the act as they view the act as self defeatist as how Bill Bragg puts it in an interview with the BBC show Panorama “It’s like going out and taking away every ones music players and complaining that now one is buying and CD’s”.