MUMBAI: The UK’s royalty collecting body, Performing Rights Society for Music (PRS) has suggested that internet service providers should pay a levy into the content industries based on how much piracy occurs on their networks as reported by the media.
The idea of a levy is contained in a discussion paper, “Moving Digital Britain Forward Without Leaving Creative Britain Behind.”
Will Page, chief economist at PRS for Music and David Touve of Washington and Lee University, write in the paper that as the UK’s Digital Economy Act obliges telecoms regulator Ofcom to measure levels of piracy, then this could enable a compensation system to be introduced.
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“The desired end game is one of no compensation,” the document states, as the authors believe ISPs would act to eliminate piracy on their networks.
“What co-author David Touve and I have been working on developing are market-based solutions to the harm caused by illegal file sharing over the Internet,” said Page in a statement. “More importantly, we explore what legal options exist for recovering the value of that harm, and offer an economic framework that can be considered when structuring a resolution.”
However, UK broadband providers are expected to react with fury at any such measure being introduced. ISPs are already unhappy with obligations placed on them in the Digital Economy Act, which means they have to warn customers about their online activity if a rights holder issues an infringement complaint. BT and Talk Talk are already seeking judicial review.
