How have internet service providers, rights holders and campaigners reacted to the Newzbin2 court ruling?
Internet service providers, rights holders and lobbying groups have reacted to Thursday's landmark high court ruling forcing BT to block access to the illegal filesharing website Newzbin2.
Simon Milner, director of group policy at BT
"This is a helpful judgement, which provides clarity on this complex issue. It clearly shows that rights holders need to prove their claims and convince a judge to make a court order. BT has consistently said that rights holders need to take this route. We will return to court after the summer to explain what kind of order we believe is appropriate."
Chris Marcich, president and managing director of the Motion Picture Association, the Hollywood studios industry body that brought the action against BT
"This ruling from Justice Arnold is a victory for millions of people working in the UK creative industries and demonstrates that the law of the land must apply online. This court action was never an attack on ISPs but we do need their cooperation to deal with the Newzbin site which continually tries to evade the law and judicial sanction. Newzbin is a notorious pirate website which makes hundreds of thousands of copyrighted products available without permission and with no regard for the law."
Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the UK music trade body the British Phonographic Industry
"This judgment sends a clear signal that ISPs have a role to play in protecting their customers from rogue websites that exploit and profit from creative work without permission, ignore takedown notices and locate themselves beyond the reach of law enforcement."
Simon Baggs, partner and head of rights protection at law firm Wiggin, and one of the solicitors who acted on behalf of the MPA in this case
"The decision is vital for the content sector as it continues in its efforts to create a sustainable and safe environment for distribution of legal content online. Following this judgment, other websites that are focused on infringing copyright may now be susceptible to blocking actions. UK content owners have just established a powerful weapon to assist them in protecting their copyrights online."
Loz Kaye, leader of Pirate Party UK
"This is a terrible day for ordinary British internet users. The judgement sets a worrying precedent for internet censorship. This is the thin end of a very large wedge. It also leaves the coalition [government]'s internet policy in disarray. It appears that our digital rights are to be determined by Hollywood, not parliament."
Peter Bradwell, copyright campaigner at the Open Rights Group
"Website blocking is pointless and dangerous. These judgements won't work to stop infringement or boost creative industries. And there are serious risks of legitimate content being blocked and service slowdown. If the goal is boosting creators' ability to make money from their work then we need to abandon these technologically naive measures, focus on genuine market reforms, and satisfy unmet consumer demand."
Ian de Freitas, intellectual property partner at the law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner
"Intermediaries like BT are being forced to accept that policing the internet for IP rights infringements is as much their responsibility as the rights holders. The judgment suggests there may not be a flood of similar claims launched. This misses the point. Now that this test case establishes that an injunction can be granted, intermediaries are likely to adopt a notice-and-takedown approach which has operated for many years in relation to defamation claims. Once notified of claimed IP infringements by rights-holders, intermediaries are unlikely to want to test the position in expensive court proceedings."
Gregor Pryor, partner and digital media specialist at the law firm Reed Smith
"Although the law on which the movie studios rely to block access to Newzbin has been in force for some time, this is the first occasion that a court has upheld it in relation to an ISP. This is a welcome victory for rights owners, who have been deprived of income due to Newzbin's illegal activities. However, as a test case, it has set a precedent that has the potential to result in a flurry of less worthy court applications to block infringing content. Innumerable websites carry user-uploaded content and could equally now be the subject of a request for ISP blocking. YouTube is but one example."
The Internet Service Providers' Association, the industry body which represents British ISPs
"ISPA has long maintained that this is an issue rights holders should seek to address in court, rather than through voluntary means, and today's ruling should go some way to offering clarity on what is a complex issue. However, concerns about over-blocking, ease of circumvention and increased encryption are widely recognised which means blocking is not a silver bullet to stop online copyright infringement. Rather, as the government-commissioned Hargreaves review recently found, there should be more focus on offering innovative, fully-licensed content services to give consumers what they are clearly demanding."
TalkTalk
"The court's decision has no direct or immediate impact on TalkTalk. If the MPA seeks a court order against us to block the NewzBin site then we will consider it."
Mike O'Connor, chief executive at statutory body Consumer Focus
"Website blocking only treats the symptoms, not the cause, of why consumers infringe copyright. Blocking access to Newzbin2 is short-sighted and will not reduce demand for Hollywood movies. Consumers will seek out other sources and the only long-term solution is more and better legal alternatives. We are heading into a blocking injunction arms-race - what we really need is the members of the Motion Picture Association to be innovative and focus on meeting UK consumer demand legally."
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/28/newzbin2-filesharing-verdict-industry-reactions
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