TorrentFreak

Telecoms regulator Ofcom has just published a study into the state of online copyright infringement in the UK, with some very interesting conclusions. The researchers found that 10% of the country’s most prolific infringers are responsible for almost 80% of all infringements carried out online, but with a bonus. These plus an additional 10% of infringers spend 300% more than ‘honest’ consumers who don’t infringe copyright at all.

UK communications regulatory body OFCOM has today published an amended version of its Initial Obligations Code, a set of rules relating to the anti-piracy provisions in the country’s controversial Digital Economy Act. OFCOM clarifies the obligations of rightsholders regarding the auditing of piracy tracking systems, and gives them three times longer to produce evidence. On Government order, subscriber right of appeal has been seriously reduced.

Last week, UK communications regulator OFCOM published a report which came to the conclusion that blocking ‘pirate’ websites would not be effective. The report contained a number of sensitive government redactions which were easily removed, effectively providing a comprehensive guide to bypass web blocking measures. Since the US government wants to adopt the same technical measures via the PROTECT IP Act, they too will be rendered ineffective using the same methods.

Yesterday the UK government announced that following a report from regulator OFCOM, plans to block alleged copyright-infringing websites would be dropped. However, there was a second report where OFCOM detailed ways of keeping the costs of Digital Economy Act infringement appeals down. The document carried the usual redactions but TorrentFreak has put on its X-ray vision for your viewing pleasure.

As UK communications watchdog Ofcom considers if website blocking is actually feasible, an insider at government meetings has said that the mechanism is the favored approach to dealing with illicit file-sharing. In the hope that the plans get the go ahead, the entertainment industries have already prepared a list of 100 sites that they would like to see blocked by ISPs.

The head of Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition organization for the communication industries in the UK, has suggested that they may not stay silent on the issue of file-sharing for much longer.