tidus792
19-08-2009, 11:25 AM
Aug 19, 2009
Online pirates could lose Net access
By Chua Hian Hou
THE authorities are studying a new way to pull the plug on unauthorised downloads: terminating Internet access of hardcore pirates who refuse to quit despite repeat warnings.
If such a law is adopted, the pirate could get three warnings if caught downloading illegally. Do it again and the authorities will get the Internet service provider (ISP) to cut off Internet access.
Commonly known as the 'three strikes' law, it is already in force in South Korea to deter users found downloading pirated materials, typically through their ISPs.
Similar laws have been proposed in Britain, France and New Zealand, although there is no guarantee the controversial laws will be passed.
Questions have also been raised about its effectiveness, since there is nothing to stop a pirate whose Internet access has been cut from opening a new account with another ISP or through a family member at the same address.
In a statement, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (Ipos) said it was studying the option and holding discussions with 'relevant stakeholders on the issue'.
Three strikes laws are still evolving and there are no immediate plans to implement them here, it added.
While it is against the law in many countries, including Singapore, to download pirated materials, the popularity of such activities makes enforcement difficult and unpopular.
Under the Singapore Copyright Act, those who download pirated materials can be sued by the copyright owners. Those who download large quantities of pirated materials - the law does not specify how much - also face criminal sanctions, including a fine and jail term, although the law has never been enforced.
The only reported case of police action so far was in October 2006, when the authorities raided the homes of seven home users for allegedly downloading pirated music, although none was charged.
Allen & Gledhill's intellectual property head, Dr Stanley Lai, was not surprised that a three strikes law was being considered here.
'Provided there are safeguards, such graduated response laws may provide another means of installing copyright discipline over Internet-based copyright infringements,' he said.
He warned though, that the proposal will draw flak from downloaders as well as normal Internet users who will see it as 'a curtailment of cyber-rights and freedoms'.
Critics have also slammed such laws for their over-reliance on evidence provided by copyright owners and their presumption of guilt instead of the presumption of innocence, said Dr Lai.
Copyright owners, predictably, were in favour of this.
The Motion Picture Association's regional director of operations, Mr Edward Neubronner, said it was 'a fair and effective' way to deter copyright infringement without affecting those who access the Internet legally.
According to the association, Singaporeans are among the region's biggest movie downloaders on a per capita basis, with some 350,000 infringements monthly.
While some downloaders like undergraduate Jerry Lim, 21, will probably stop if they get a warning, others thought such a move, should it come to pass, would be 'totally ineffective'.
One heavy user who declined to be named said: 'Let's say they can actually catch me downloading three times and get StarHub to disconnect me. Big deal. I'll just switch to SingNet or M1 or get my parents to sign up.
'To stop me, you will have to warn everyone in my household three times each, multiplied by the number of ISPs... You do the maths.'
Online pirates could lose Net access
By Chua Hian Hou
THE authorities are studying a new way to pull the plug on unauthorised downloads: terminating Internet access of hardcore pirates who refuse to quit despite repeat warnings.
If such a law is adopted, the pirate could get three warnings if caught downloading illegally. Do it again and the authorities will get the Internet service provider (ISP) to cut off Internet access.
Commonly known as the 'three strikes' law, it is already in force in South Korea to deter users found downloading pirated materials, typically through their ISPs.
Similar laws have been proposed in Britain, France and New Zealand, although there is no guarantee the controversial laws will be passed.
Questions have also been raised about its effectiveness, since there is nothing to stop a pirate whose Internet access has been cut from opening a new account with another ISP or through a family member at the same address.
In a statement, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (Ipos) said it was studying the option and holding discussions with 'relevant stakeholders on the issue'.
Three strikes laws are still evolving and there are no immediate plans to implement them here, it added.
While it is against the law in many countries, including Singapore, to download pirated materials, the popularity of such activities makes enforcement difficult and unpopular.
Under the Singapore Copyright Act, those who download pirated materials can be sued by the copyright owners. Those who download large quantities of pirated materials - the law does not specify how much - also face criminal sanctions, including a fine and jail term, although the law has never been enforced.
The only reported case of police action so far was in October 2006, when the authorities raided the homes of seven home users for allegedly downloading pirated music, although none was charged.
Allen & Gledhill's intellectual property head, Dr Stanley Lai, was not surprised that a three strikes law was being considered here.
'Provided there are safeguards, such graduated response laws may provide another means of installing copyright discipline over Internet-based copyright infringements,' he said.
He warned though, that the proposal will draw flak from downloaders as well as normal Internet users who will see it as 'a curtailment of cyber-rights and freedoms'.
Critics have also slammed such laws for their over-reliance on evidence provided by copyright owners and their presumption of guilt instead of the presumption of innocence, said Dr Lai.
Copyright owners, predictably, were in favour of this.
The Motion Picture Association's regional director of operations, Mr Edward Neubronner, said it was 'a fair and effective' way to deter copyright infringement without affecting those who access the Internet legally.
According to the association, Singaporeans are among the region's biggest movie downloaders on a per capita basis, with some 350,000 infringements monthly.
While some downloaders like undergraduate Jerry Lim, 21, will probably stop if they get a warning, others thought such a move, should it come to pass, would be 'totally ineffective'.
One heavy user who declined to be named said: 'Let's say they can actually catch me downloading three times and get StarHub to disconnect me. Big deal. I'll just switch to SingNet or M1 or get my parents to sign up.
'To stop me, you will have to warn everyone in my household three times each, multiplied by the number of ISPs... You do the maths.'