Ireland’s High Court refused to order UPC to stop its...
Ireland’s High Court refused to order UPC to stop its subscribers from downloading copyrighted music, the Irish Times and others reported Monday. The Irish Recorded Music Association, whose members are Warner Music, Universal Music, Sony BMG and EMI Records, had…
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asked the court to force ISPs to adopt a “three-strikes” regime. Justice Peter Charleton said despite the fact that Internet piracy hurts the recording industry, Irish law doesn’t provide for identifying and disconnecting Internet users who are illegally copying music files -- creating a gap that means the country isn’t obeying EU law, the Times reported. UPC said it will continue to work with key stakeholders to address the main concerns of all relevant parties in the file-sharing debate and will maintain its strong stance against illegal activity on its network. But under the “mere conduit” principle, ISPs can’t be held liable for content transmitted across their networks, the ISP said. The ruling supports the principle that ISPs aren’t liable for the actions of subscribers, the company said. IRMA Chairman Willie Kavanagh called the decision “extremely disappointing.” The Irish government has failed to protect copyright owners’ constitutional rights by not adopting the EU copyright directives properly, he said. IRMA now looks to the government to vindicate those rights and could “seek compensation for the past and continuing losses from the State,” Director General Dick Doyle said.