Editor ' s comment SWITCHBOARD 01 207 4288 Contacting PC Live! • Contact the team by individual e-mail or direct-dial numbers listed here • Send press releases to newsroom@mediateam.ie PUBLISHER Frank Quinn f r a n k. q u i n n @mediatea m . ie 01 207 4253
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Stephen Cawley
IRMA b ac k in the courts
stephen.cawley@mediateam.ie 01 207 4271
SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR Paul Byrne paul.byrne@mediatea m. it 01 207 425E
BUSINESS MANAGEF Eimear Nealor
It seems persistent litigation is the only way to combat internet music pirates. STEPHEN CAWLEY comments on IRMA's return to the courts
C
ART DIRECTO Miriam Case miriam.casey@mediateam. 01 207 42;
songs. The traditional defence for illegal file sharing though P2P services was that there was no legal digital alternative. This is certainly no longer the case with Itunes and Sony among others offering legal digital download services in Ireland. Doyle himself says that IRMA "would never go to court without legitimate digital download services being in place". The central point here is that it is uploaders that the recording industry is chasing as they are distributing content without licence. Downloaders are less at risk, home users may still rip their music to their portable music players, and download tracks from legitimate sites, more of which are coming on stream all of the
ISPs reveal identities So much is IRMA in the right, that in the first phase of legal action, Irish internet service providers were compelled by the High Court to disclose the identities of those most serious file uploading offenders so that they could be pursued for compensation.
time. In the end persistent litigation complemented by increasing legitimate digital distribution seems to be the only successful strategy for the music industry to pursue internet pirates. The serial uploaders are getting the message and if they aren't, the parents of the teenage ones certainly are with fines of up to €2,500 in the offing. Stephen Cawley - editor
PRODUCTIO Liz O'Rour4 l i z. o rou r ke@ m e d iateam. 01 207 421
CIRCULATION MANAGE Niall Kits( niall.kitson @ mediateam 01 207 42
ONLINE EDITOR Barry Gild( b a r ry. g i l d e a @mediatea m 01 207 42
COMPANY ACCOUNTAP VICTORIA SMIvi cto r i a. s m i t h @mediatea rr 01 207 42
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To give you an idea of the extent of the illegal sharing, Doyle claims that over 50,800 songs were uploaded by the 50 users in question. One user uploaded 5,000
It is now clear that continuous legal action is necessary for IRMA if it is to reduce the number of illegal file shares through peer to peer networks. It is just a pity that its extensive education process and media campaign wasn't enough to reduce the piracy. While IRMA may have been presented by some as a guard dog of the record companies coming down on the innocent consumer, it is clear that the organisation is well within its right to protect the copyright material of the companies it represents and to reaffirm to the general public that the sharing of the copyright material over P2P is illegal and is the equivalent of stealing.
followed by your name , postal address and daytime telephone number.
BUSINESS SUPPORT MANAGEI Teresa Leneha
Serious uploading
,,ous legal action
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mark.webster@med i ateam.i 01 207 426
of the offending uploaders.
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ACCOUNT MANAGEI Mark Webste
Fifty cases will be pursued by IRMA in the second phase and it will go after 50 serial uploaders who were subscribers to the internet services of Eircom Net, Esat BT, Irish Broadband and Chorus. Once more IRMA will require high court orders to get the identities
n November 15th, IRMA - The trade association of the Irish music industry initiated the second phase of its legal action against serial uploaders of copyright music for illegal sharing. The first legal class action which was taken in April was deemed a short term success. In the immediate timeframe after the action, according to IRMA's director general Dick Doyle, "the number of illegal uploads had halved". However, by July, August and September, the number was back up to its original high. It seems that the first legal action had sent a shock to the uploaders locally, only to drive them underground for a short period and for them to raise up again when they felt the coast was
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eimear.nealon @mediateam.i, 01 207 426:
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