‘Graduated Response’ à L’Anglaise: Online Copyright Infringement and the Digital Economy Act (U.K.) 2010

Abstract

This article undertakes a comprehensive examination of sections 3-16 of the Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2010, a controversial British copyright enforcement measure that, if implemented, will trigger a species of 'graduated response' to online copyright infringement in the United Kingdom.

The article first identifies the regulatory strategy embodied in the relevant provisions, the legal context that frames them, and the background to their inclusion in the DEA. It then analyses in detail the obligations that will be imposed on Internet access providers - and the implications for Internet users - if the provisions are brought fully into effect. Overall, the article aims to illuminate the circumstances in which the provisions were drafted and reveal the conflicts they have generated - conflicts that continue to yield challenges both to their legality and to their legitimacy, and could yet make them a dead letter.

Keywords: copyright, file-sharing, digital economy, ISP liability, regulation, graduated response, three strikes