Posted: 07th Sep, 2010 By: MarkJ
Market regulator Ofcom UK, which launched its first of three internet copyright infringement and "
illegal" UK broadband ISP file sharing (p2p) consultations on 28th May 2010 (
here), has blamed delays with its final two consultations upon government dithering over cost sharing (between ISPs and Rights Holders) and the potential need for a more extensive set of rules to tackle enforcement measures.
Ofcom's first consultation -
Online Copyright Infringement Initial Obligations Code - set out how ISPs should tackle
Copyright Infringement Reports (CIR) and send notifications (
Warning Letters) to customers accused of unlawful file sharing (p2p) activity. A requirement of the controversial
2010 Digital Economy Act (DEA).
The first consultation closed on 30th July after just two months (
summary of key ISP and Rights Holder responses) and was expected to be closely followed by two similar consultations.
* Enforcement of the code and the handling of industry disputes [Original ETA - July 2010]
* Tariff setting - i.e. sharing costs - from implementing and fulfilling requirements in the code
[Original ETA - September 2010 - but dependent on the progress of Government's cost sharing consultation and statutory
instrument]
Much as we reported at the end of last month (
here), neither of the final two consultations have begun. The government was supposed to issue some form of public response to its own "
cost sharing" consultation at the end of August, although this never materialised. Meanwhile Ofcom's "
enforcement" consultation is now roughly two months overdue.
An Ofcom Spokeswoman told ISPreview.co.uk today:
"On the enforcement of the code and industry disputes, we are looking at whether our existing guidelines on enforcement are sufficient. If not, we will run a broader piece of work on enforcement to make sure we have a consistent approach across all our activities."
Ofcom also confirmed that it was still completely "
dependent on the Government's cost sharing consultation" and could not proceed to issue its own paper until that one had been concluded. The original
Digital Economy Act is partly to blame for imposing such tight deadlines, which given the complexity of this issue were never realistically achievable.
On top of all this both BT and TalkTalk have launched a judicial review of the DEA, which will no doubt conspire to hinder the process and cause additional hassle for the government. As it stands Ofcom is likely to miss its target of completing all the necessary consultations by the end of this year. At the time of writing they were not able to say when the final two would air.