Top ISPs poised to act as Internet gatekeepers to curb piracy

After years of negotiations with media and entertainment companies, some of the country’s largest Internet service providers, including AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are teaming up to increase efforts in the unending fight against piracy, according to a CNET report.

The group of U.S. bandwidth providers aims to establish “new and tougher punishments for customers who refuse to stop using their networks to pirate films, music and other intellectual property,” multiple sources told CNET.

Under the proposed plan, participating bandwidth providers would adopt a “graduated response” to subscribers who repeatedly infringe copyrights. ISPs would first issue written warnings, called Copyright Alerts, to customers accused by copyright owners of downloading materials illegally via peer-to-peer sites, the sources said. Should a subscriber fail to heed the warning, an ISP could choose to send numerous follow-up notices. Eventually, the plan requires ISPs to take more serious action.

The respective trade groups for the four major record companies and six top Hollywood film studios, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), have long been in negotiations with ISPs to act as an “Internet gatekeeper” in dealing with piracy. In addition, the White House was also instrumental in encouraging the parties to reach an agreement, the sources confirmed.

The sources cautioned that a final agreement has yet to be signed but added that at this point a deal is “within reach and is on track” to be unveiled sometime next month.

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Piracy, Pirates and Offshore Techies

During the past few weeks, one couldn’t glance through the international headlines without reading about the saga of Piracy unfolding in the Gulf of Aden and at high-seas. To those of us in the software IT services business, another version of this scourge continues to impact us: software piracy. 

Given that Piracy is noteworthy and the pirates at sea are operate offshore, I am surprised that some smart alec writer or blogger hasn’t picked up on offshoring piracy. It is probably because large software services firms, Infosys included, take Intellectual property rights seriously. Most have strong policies and guidelines preventing employees, consultants and service providers from indulging in such acts and violations are not tolerated.

The numbers in terms of dollars lost to software piracy are hugh. For instance, this article talks about how “Software ranks among the most popular categories of counterfeited goods, and the Internet is only contributing to the rise in intellectual property violations, according to research by a piracy-prevention consultancy .  .   . During the month of June 2005, $91 million worth of entertainment media and software was pirated worldwide, up 13 per cent from December 2004, according to research from Canada's Gieschen Consultancy.”

Though companies discourage the practice by strong enforcement within their environments, software piracy continues. Pervasiveness of wi-fi and broadband has made piracy a cottage industry. Many of us may support or actively participate in piracy without even blinking. Here is a dipstick: Do you feel guilty about making copies of the latest music hit that your friend bought? (or the other way around) While doing so, you may not feel as sinister as a gang of Somalis taking the captain of Mersk Alabama hostage, it is still about the owner of the “rights” not getting their due share. Which makes one wonder if there such a thing as Harmless piracy?

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