For a man engaged in the political equivalent of herding cats, David Lammy seems in a remarkably good mood. As intellectual property minister, the former lawyer – and friend of fellow Harvard alumnus Barack Obama – is charged with the Herculean task of dragging the UK’s copyright rules into the digital age.Alongside communications minister Lord Carter, meanwhile, he is trying to thrash out a deal between film, music, publishing and internet companies to prevent the creative industries, which the government hopes will help pull the UK out of recession, being washed away by the flood of illegal online file-sharing.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/26/david-lammy-illegal-downloads-piracyAlso see:
UK IP minister rules out ‘three strikes’ disconnection law
The Government minister responsible for intellectual property has ruled out a ‘three strikes’ law denying internet access to illegal file sharers. David Lammy said cutting off users was not “the right road” for UK law makers.The French Government has attempted to create a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ law but has been thwarted by parliament. The plan, which is promoted by rights-holding content industries such as the record and film businesses, involves internet subscribers receiving two warnings about illegal file-sharing activity and then being cut off from the internet.
http://out-law.com/page-9977
Leave a Reply