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Archive for the ‘BPI’ Category

Illegal filesharing: Government attacks BPI over last-minute letter

By Mark Sweney, Guardian.co.uk, Thursday July 31 2008

A hardline letter sent by the BPI at the 11th hour threatened to undermine a deal to tackle illegal filesharing, prompting the government to express its displeasure of the music industry body in a terse response to record label executives.

The BPI’s letter, signed by the body’s chief executive, Geoff Taylor, was sent to Baroness Vadera, the business minister; the UK’s six biggest internet service providers; and the Motion Picture Association of America, the Hollywood studios’ trade organisation.

It was sent on the morning of July 23, the day the memorandum of understanding was due to be signed by the government and the various music, film and internet industry signatories.

In the letter the BPI, which represents the UK recorded music industry, said it welcomed the MoU, but thought it was important to ‘clarify’ that it did not consider the agreement to be an ‘exhaustive solution’.

The letter reiterated the BPI’s strong views on enforcement of copyright protection, reminding the signatories that the MoU did not mean a ‘waiver’ of existing legal rights.
(more…)

This is an article from: TorrentFreak

UK “MP3 Police” Evidence Unchallenged, Not For Public Consumption: “

This week, ISPs agreed to work with the BPI to reduce file-sharing in the UK. When someone gets ‘caught’ the ISPs will send out a warning, 100% based on music industry provided ‘evidence’. Not even the ISPs know if the claims of the BPI are true, so the evidence is totally unchallenged, a perfect position for the music industry.

On Thursday, every type of media outlet in the UK - newspapers, Internet, radio shows, TV and teletext all bristled with the same news. Six major ISPs had agreed to start sending out warning letters to alleged file-sharers after the government ordered action to decrease online piracy.

Most people seem to be interested in what happens after a letter is received, but who decides who gets a letter in the first place? Well, that’s the self-appointed job of the BPI (the British Phonographic Industry), a completely commercial organization set up to serve the interests of the music business and they don’t want you to know (in any detail) how their file-sharing tracking systems work. The same systems would’ve been used should they have been successful in their demands for ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ yet there is zero transparency - everyone is supposed to blindly accept what they say as truth and that simply can’t be healthy.

In recent comments, a Carphone Warehouse spokesman further indicated that it is expected to take action against its customers based purely on the ‘evidence’ provided by the BPI. ‘What we have agreed to do is to write to our customers and advise them there’s been an alleged infringement,’ he said. ‘We’re very clear that we don’t know if that’s the case or not, we’ve just been told there has been and we want to advise them of that.’

So in a nutshell, the BPI provide all the ‘evidence’, and the ISPs have to blindly believe it and take action against their own customers. To think that a commercial organization like the BPI is allowed to provide its own unchallenged allegations in such a completely non-transparent manner is the real outrage in all of this. If the BPI is to be trusted with such power, it has to be held accountable. If it is to remain credible in its role as the ‘UK MP3 Police’ its systems must be opened up to public scrutiny. Once they are proved to be accurate by a panel of independent experts, then all well and good, but the fact remains that the BPI only give a vague indication of how they operate and have no intentions of elaborating.

Matt Philips, Director of Communications at the BPI refused to tell TorrentFreak how they gather their evidence, so any right-minded individual with an interest in this issue might find themselves asking: ‘What exactly are they afraid of?’

Clearly, it should be possible from their detailed records for an ISP to confirm or deny the technical evidence provided by the BPI. However, they aren’t in a position to do this since it would be a massive breach of customer privacy. Instead, the word of the BPI is taken at face value.

In a response, some Swedish ISPs have voiced their opinions too. ‘We don’t want to act like police and feel that a system similar to that in the UK is a deep invasion of privacy,’ said Annika Kristersson of Tele2, adding: ‘It would entail us having to spy on our customers.’

Everyone makes mistakes and no system is flawless so it’s essential to have a verification process before throwing accusations around. Until then, take comfort in knowing that the file-sharing equivalent of home-made, untested, uncalibrated police speed cameras of unknown design and ability are operated by people with a vested interest and are passing judgment on you, your children and potentially (should the BPI get its way) your whole Internet future. A little transparency to inspire confidence isn’t too much to ask.

Net firms in music pirates deal: “Six of the UK’s biggest net providers are believed to have signed up to a government-backed plan to tackle illegal file-sharing.”

(Via BBC News.)

Downloading illegally? Look out, they’re watching you: “It is easier for the authorities to find out if you - or your children - have
been illegally downloading music than you think. When Virgin Media started
writing to some of its customers saying that they had been downloading
illegally, it was able to include the date and time of the activity as if it
were issuing a speeding ticket.”

(Via Law News from Times Online.)

Virgin Media sends warning letter to file sharers - Computeractive

Disconnection threat an ‘administration error’, says internet provider
Andrea-Marie Vassou, Computeract!ve 03 Jul 2008

Virgin Media has sent around 800 letters to customers warning them to stop sharing music on file-sharing sites.

The letters are part of a 10-week campaign the internet service provider (ISP) is running in conjunction with the recording industry body, the BPI.

Virgin said the letters, which list the track that has been both uploaded and downloaded, along with the date and time, would help educate users on the possible penalties people face.

However, the envelope for the letters has a threat to disconnect repeat offenders printed on them.

Virgin denied it was the start of the company implementing a three-strikes system. This is where users of file-sharing networks get two warning letters to stop them downloading or uploading music or movies. If users persist their broadband service is disconnected. It has been adopted in France and is something that the BPI is pushing for UK ISPs to sign up to.

A spokesman for Virgin Media said: ‘The letters should have been sent out in a plain envelope and the printed warnings were an administration error.

‘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 Wifi connection, ‘ he said.

Virgin Media is given people’s information by the BPI, which monitors file-sharing networks. It initiates a track to download from the IP address of the file sharer it is watching. It then sends the information to Virgin, which can identify the customer concerned from the IP address.

The BPI said there was no ‘spying’ involved in the collection of data. It said in a statement: ‘The evidence collected by the BPI is in fact made available by any uploader to in the normal course of using a P2P (filesharing) network. Nor does the process raise ‘data protection issues’.

However, privacy groups are concerned and point out that the scheme could have unintended consequences for Virgin.

Dr Yaman Akdeniz, director for the Cyber Rights Group, said: ‘Virgin is sending out these threatening letters which will upset lot of people.

‘These threatening ‘Big Brother is watching you’ tactics will only push users to other ISPs rather than acting as a useful educational tool.’”

Virgin Educates File-Sharers with Mistaken Envelops: “There seems to already be a bit of a hiccup in Virgin Media’s campaign to educate file-sharers. Last month, Virgin Media and the BPI joined forced in an effort to educate those suspected of uploading on P2P networks. This effort involved Virgin Media sending letters from both Virgin and the BPI informing suspected P2P butt pirates the dangers and alternatives to their activities. Virgin assured the Internet community that this was not part of a ‘three strikes’ policy to disconnect users.”

(Via Slyck.com File-Sharing News And Information.)

BT starts threatening music downloaders with internet cut-off: “

BPI wins another ISP ally

Exclusive BT, the UK’s largest broadband provider, has begun threatening subscribers with disconnection from the internet if it is told they are sharing copyright music over peer-to-peer networks, The Register has learned.…

“

(Via The Register - Public Sector.)

Out-law coverage for the Virgin Media action…

Virgin sends file-sharing warnings to customers: “Virgin Media has begun sending letters of warning to some of its customers saying that artists’ lobby group the BPI has evidence of illegal file sharing from their accounts. Virgin, the UK’s second largest ISP, is the first to take such action.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

BPI & Virgin Media Press Release: Virgin Media launches downloading education campaign with BPI: 6:6:2008

Virgin Media and the BPI today announced a new education campaign to help Virgin Media’s broadband customers safely download music from the internet and avoid the risk of legal action.

As part of the campaign, customers whose accounts appear to have been used to distribute music in breach of copyright will receive informative letters, one from Virgin Media and one from the BPI. Accounts will be identified to Virgin Media on the basis of information supplied by the BPI. Both letters will be distributed by Virgin Media, without the need to disclose customer names and addresses to the BPI.

Research suggests that across the UK, over six and a half million consumers’ broadband accounts are used to access music without permission using peer-to-peer services [i]. The BPI and Virgin Media believe that, in many cases, customers may not be aware that their account is being used in this way. The new campaign will provide practical advice on how to prevent account misuse, links to legitimate sources of on-line music and information about the potential dangers of downloading files from unauthorised sources, including increased threats from viruses and spyware.

Virgin Media will also provide information for all its broadband customers on its website.

Commenting on the new campaign, Virgin Media said: “Virgin Media’s fibre optic broadband is a great platform for people who want to download lots of music on-line. But we want them to do so without infringing the rights of musicians and music companies. This campaign is about helping our customers understand how they can do this and get the best out of the internet.”

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI added: “Education is absolutely key to reducing the extent of illegal downloading, and we are pleased to be working with Virgin Media on this campaign. We believe that new partnerships with ISPs can help build an internet in which music is properly valued. That will benefit not just musicians, songwriters and labels, but all internet users who love music. This joint campaign with Virgin Media is the first step towards achieving that goal.”

- Ends –

Notes to editors

Virgin Media
Virgin Media is an innovative and pioneering UK entertainment and communications business. For the first time consumers can get everything they need from one company - the UK’s only quad play of TV, broadband, phone and mobile plus the most advanced TV on demand service available, the UK’s first high definition TV service and V+, our high specification personal video recorder. We’re the UK’s largest residential broadband provider, the largest virtual mobile network operator and the second largest provider of pay TV and home phone.

Virgin Media owns two content businesses - Virgin Media Television (VMTV) and sit-up. VMTV owns seven entertainment channels – Virgin1, Living, Living 2, Bravo, Bravo 2, Challenge, and Trouble - and is a 50% partner in UKTV which consists of nine channels including Dave, UKTV Gold and UKTV History. sit-up runs retail TV channels bid tv, price-drop tv and speed auctiontv.

Virgin Media is the largest Virgin company in the world and has almost 10 million customers. To find out more visit www.virginmedia.com/presscentre.

The BPI
The BPI (formerly known as British Phonographic Industry) represents the UK recorded music business.

Its membership comprises of hundreds of music companies including all four major record companies, associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies representing thousands of labels.

Further information from the BPI about ISP Partnerships http://www.bpi.co.uk/isp-partnership

[i] Source: Jupiter Research

BBC News: Time to take on the file sharers: By Chris Martin

On 9 June, BBC commentator Bill Thompson wrote a critique of a joint venture between the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) and Virgin Media to write to customers whose net connection may have been used to download unlicensed content.

Here, BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor responds to his comments.