Virgin goes after UK P2P file sharers
p2pnet news | Music:- Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG’s BPI (British Phonographic Industry) was, “working with Virgin” to have customers spammed with “warning letters,” p2pnet reported in March.
We reiterated the news in yesterday’s story on the inclusion of BT, Britain’s largest bandwidth provider, in the corporate music sue ‘em all plan to in effect blackmail UK music lovers into buying Big 4 ‘product,’ and only Big 4 ‘product’.
Now, “Virgin Media has sent about 800 letters to customers warning them that they should not be downloading illegal music files via file-sharing sites,” says the BBC, stating >>>
It is part of a 10-week campaign it is running in conjunction with the BPI to “educate” users about downloads.
The BPI, the body which represents the UK record industry, told the BBC that “thousands more letters” would be sent.
Its, “stricter stance on illegal downloaders might result in some ISPs being taken to court,” it told the Beeb.
The BPI wants all UK ISPs to, “sign up to a so-called three strikes policy - where users of file sharing networks get two warnings and are then disconnected if they are sharing copyright files,” it goes on, quoting BPI boss Geoff Taylor (right) as saying the Big 4 extortion unit was, “prepared to back up the education campaign with legal action, including taking ISPs to court”.
But the story has Will McGree, 20, a recipient of a BPI ‘legal action’ warning, saying >>>
It’s doomed to fail. Virgin Media will lose a lot of customers over this because people don’t like to be accused of stealing music over their morning coffee.
It made me feel betrayed. I was under the impression that I paid Virgin Media money to keep my internet connection protected and safe.
Becky Hogge, executive director of the Open Rights Group, says, in the story, the music industry needed to offer a, ” viable alternative before it clamped down on the activities of some user”.
“Stopping illicit file-sharing might not be as effective a measure as trying to monetise it,” she says.
Continues the BBC >>>
The current system involves the BPI policing file sharing networks. It looks for illegal traffic and identifies the IP address from which it has come and informs the ISP.
There is no distinction made between someone who has downloaded one illegal track and someone who has downloaded thousands.
A joint letter from Virgin and the BPI is then sent to the individual.
“This is about education. We make no assumptions about who is at fault. It may be someone in the family or someone illegally using their wi-fi connection,” said a Virgin Media spokesman.
But, “With conservative estimates suggesting a fifth of Europeans are involved in file sharing, some experts question how much impact such a system can have,” states the story.
“File sharing is very youth-skewed,” it has Jupiter Research analyst Mark Mulligan saying. “The BPI isn’t going to close the door on the problem but it can get at the families whose kids are file sharing without their knowledge.”
Adds the BBC:
“Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, said the details of the services were yet to be decided but that there are likely to a variety of models on offer that would be ‘easy and cheap’. The form they take will be crucial, thinks Mr Mulligan.
” ‘Charging a tenner a month hasn’t worked. Ideally it needs to be incredibly cheap or free, with a massive catalogue that can be tranferrable,’ he said.
“Mr Taylor admitted that the BPI’s current campaign was unlikely to stop file sharing completely but he did think the idea that the web was home to free stuff needs to be challenged.”
Stay tuned.
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.Stumble It!
spammed with “warning letters” - Virgin Media as copyright cop, March 31, 2008 , 2008
blackmail UK music lovers - Jim Prentice: still touting Canadian DMCA, June 19, 2008
BBC - Warning letters to ‘file-sharers’, July 3, 2008
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July 3rd, 2008 at 10:08 am
Me too I can send threatening Email to this music industry parasites; tons of them!
Parasites! you will got two warning if you continue this BS them we will destroy your head quarter.
You will be authorized to cry on the ruin of your business under armed guard though.
Are we nice or what?
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
No more virgin products or services for me. f**king retards.
The MUSIC industry can go boil its head.