The Amended Digital Economy Act 2010 as an Unsuccessful Attempt to Solve the Stand-Alone Complex of Online Piracy
International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (2012) 43(2), 158-174
Posted: 13 Feb 2017
Date Written: 2012
Abstract
The British Government announced on 3 August 2011 that the site-blocking injunction introduced by the Digital Economy Act 2010 is to be removed. This article examines the proposed reshaping of the Act by considering its impact on various categories of resources used for online copyright infringement, taking as examples the BitTorrent platform, one-click hosting websites (such as Rapidshare, Megaupload or ZShare), streaming websites (such as Megavideo or Stagevu) and Usenet. Secondly, various risks and concerns that were raised in relation to the Act by both internet subscribers and Internet Service Providers are considered. While some of these issues were widely discussed in recent months, the article also discusses some of the less obvious dangers brought about by this piece of legislation. Finally, after balancing the effectiveness of the amended Digital Economy Act 2010 against the risks and burdens it brings to life, the author proposes abandoning the Act altogether.
Keywords: Digital Economy Act, copyright, enforcement, graduated response, human rights, online, cyberspace
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