UK Internet providers lose copyright court battle
Mar 6, 2012, 11:24 AM
LONDON (AP) – England’s High Court has sided with the music industry over Internet service providers in a battle over Britain’s new copyright rules.
The BT Group PLC and the TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC have lost their Court of Appeal challenge to new rules intended to tackle illegal filesharing.
The rules introduced by the 2010 Digital Economy Act force providers to send an escalating series of warnings to users suspected of illegally swapping movies and music online.
Eventually the act allows for service providers to suspend users’ access to the Internet.
A three-judge panel on Tuesday rejected arguments that the law would be unnecessarily expensive and invade users’ privacy.
Similar rules are already in place in France and Ireland.
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