By: Sharon Urias, Esq.
The “Intellectual Property Bill” was introduced in the UK in August 2013, and has been under debate. The Prime Minister’s Intellectual Property Adviser, Mike Weatherley, in a second reading of the bill in the House of Commons, earlier in January, aligned himself with the grievances of UK music industry. They claim that torrent services and “illegal sites” are costing British business billions of dollars in lost revenues.
The bill also calls for stiffer penalties for those found guilty of “digital infringement” – 10 years’ imprisonment (up from the current sentence of 2 years). Not only for those who run sites, but also those who continue downloading, despite repeated warnings. He calls for action against search engines, against ISPs and advertisers, in addition to the commercial source and the consumer of pirated content.
Critics point out that Mike Weatherley was, from 2007, Vice President (Europe) for the Motion Picture Licensing Company, and a former record producer.
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