Britain just decriminalised online game piracy


Recommended Posts

Britain just decriminalised online game piracy

 

The British government has decriminalised online video game, music and movie piracy, scrapping fuller punishment plans after branding them unworkable.

 

Starting in 2015, persistent file-sharers will be sent four warning letters explaining their actions are illegal, but if the notes are ignored no further action will be taken.

 

The scheme, named the Voluntary Copyright Alert Programme (VCAP), is the result of years of talks between ISPs, British politicians and the movie and music industries.

 

The UK?s biggest providers ? BT, TalkTalk, Virgin and Sky ? have all signed up to VCAP, and smaller ISPs are expected to follow suit.

 

VCAP replaces planned anti-piracy measures that included cutting users? internet connections and creating a database of file-sharers.

 

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of music trade body the BPI, said VCAP was about ?persuading the persuadable, such as parents who do not know what is going on with their net connection.?

 

He added: ?VCAP is not about denying access to the internet. It?s about changing attitudes and raising awareness so people can make the right choice.?

 

Officials will still work to close and stem funding to file-sharing sites, but the news appears to mean that the British authorities have abandoned legal enforcement of online media piracy.

 

Figures recently published by Ofcom said that nearly a quarter of all UK downlaods were of pirated content.

 

Source: vg247

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

hahaha OK so....

 

I'm warning you!! I said I am warning you...What are you going to do? ... Nothing (Because it cost too much money).

 

 

Typical UK government., It was the same as Recycling. They told everyone to recycle to save their sole and the planet and whatever....Then axed it when it cost too much money to implement schemes. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hahaha OK so....

 

 

Typical UK government., It was the same as Recycling. They told everyone to recycle to save their sole and the planet and whatever....Then axed it when it cost too much money to implement schemes. 

Sheesh, not here in America. Once they see that a bill/law will cost Billions sometimes Trillions they just ignore it and heap on another 13000 pages that cost even more money.

Britain just decriminalised online game piracy

 

The British government has decriminalised online video game, music and movie piracy, scrapping fuller punishment plans after branding them unworkable.

 

Starting in 2015, persistent file-sharers will be sent four warning letters explaining their actions are illegal, but if the notes are ignored no further action will be taken.

 

The scheme, named the Voluntary Copyright Alert Programme (VCAP), is the result of years of talks between ISPs, British politicians and the movie and music industries.

 

The UK?s biggest providers ? BT, TalkTalk, Virgin and Sky ? have all signed up to VCAP, and smaller ISPs are expected to follow suit.

 

VCAP replaces planned anti-piracy measures that included cutting users? internet connections and creating a database of file-sharers.

 

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of music trade body the BPI, said VCAP was about ?persuading the persuadable, such as parents who do not know what is going on with their net connection.?

 

He added: ?VCAP is not about denying access to the internet. It?s about changing attitudes and raising awareness so people can make the right choice.?

 

Officials will still work to close and stem funding to file-sharing sites, but the news appears to mean that the British authorities have abandoned legal enforcement of online media piracy.

 

Figures recently published by Ofcom said that nearly a quarter of all UK downlaods were of pirated content.

 

Source: vg247

So, if my IP says I'm in Britian, then it's legal to download pirated content???  :shiftyninja:  :shiftyninja:  :shiftyninja:

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

So, if my IP says I'm in Britian, then it's legal to download pirated content???  :shiftyninja:  :shiftyninja:  :shiftyninja:

 

No, it would still be illegal, only that you won't get sued but only get a warning regarding your actions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, it would still be illegal, only that you won't get sued but only get a warning regarding your actions.

 

Yeah so behave yourself or prepare to be severely warned!!  :huh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, what a slap in the face to RIAA, MPAA and similar parasitic organizations.

 

So, if my IP says I'm in Britian, then it's legal to download pirated content???  :shiftyninja:  :shiftyninja:  :shiftyninja:

 

The British government is no longer going to chase you down over piracy, this doesn't mean that any other company won't or can't. In fact this could increase their activities in Britain.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was the same as Recycling. They told everyone to recycle to save their sole and the planet and whatever....Then axed it when it cost too much money to implement schemes.

Got any info about that?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would be interesting to see what new ways the British Photogenic Industry comes up with to counter this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sheesh, not here in America. Once they see that a bill/law will cost Billions sometimes Trillions they just ignore it and heap on another 13000 pages that cost even more money.

So, if my IP says I'm in Britian, then it's legal to download pirated content???  :shiftyninja:  :shiftyninja:  :shiftyninja:

 

No, decriminalised != legal.

 

You can still be caught, fined etc, but you won't receive a criminal record.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm still suspicious, as activity is still being monitored and logged, meaning they could just change their mind and start prosecuting people.

 

That, and the last paragraph of the same story when it broke on TorrentFreak:

 

The question that remains, however, is how genuine all this positivity really is.

While the scheme is being overwhelmed with praise, the parties also announced that the first warning emails will not be sent out before next summer, possibly even later. These delays are a thorn in the side of both copyright holders and the Government, suggesting that negotiations behind the scenes are less uplifting.

This also shows in earlier comments from the Prime Minister?s IP advisor Mike Weatherly who said that it?s already time to think about VCAP?s potential failure. He suggested that the program needs to be followed by something more enforceable, including disconnections, fines and jail sentences.

 http://torrentfreak.com/uk-isps-and-copyright-holders-praise-new-piracy-warning-system-140719/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would be interesting to see what new ways the British Photogenic Industry comes up with to counter this.

Speaking as the head of the British Photogenic Industry, I am fine with this. :shifty:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw this yesterday on the BBC website and the bit about sending warning letters but then not actually acting on them seemed strange to me. For me they should either send the warning letters and take action or do nothing at all. 

 

Not really sure that the middle ground achieves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm still suspicious, as activity is still being monitored and logged, meaning they could just change their mind and start prosecuting people.

 

That, and the last paragraph of the same story when it broke on TorrentFreak:

 

 http://torrentfreak.com/uk-isps-and-copyright-holders-praise-new-piracy-warning-system-140719/

 

Yup, all the data they gather is just going to be used in their reasonings to update the DEA with harsher crack downs, and possibly pushing for piracy to switch from civil to criminal law.

 

This news is already having that effect on some in this topic who believe this is "good" news and will rush out to download more, ignore the warnings, all the while fuelling something worse down the line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yay no more warnings from Neowin mods!!

:p

Erm... no ;).

For the record, this isn't quite as media etc are making out. The agreement is that, if this scheme doesn't work (which it won't), THEN they will try other options. They're just saying that they're not going to start cutting people off.

Also, ISPs have agreed to limit the number of letters they're willing to send out. Which means failure is pretty much guaranteed, thus paving the way for further action later down the line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yay no more warnings from Neowin mods!!

:p

Is this a thing?

Erm... no ;).

For the record, this isn't quite as media etc are making out. The agreement is that, if this scheme doesn't work (which it won't), THEN they will try other options. They're just saying that they're not going to start cutting people off.

Also, ISPs have agreed to limit the number of letters they're willing to send out. Which means failure is pretty much guaranteed, thus paving the way for further action later down the line.

Ah! :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.