Judgement on the Digital Economy Act secures future jobs and growth in the creative industries
Judgement on the Digital Economy Act secures future jobs and growth in the creative industries
Commenting on today's High Court ruling on the Digital Economy Act Judicial Review, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
'We are delighted with today's outcome.
'This is a major boost to people who work in the creative industries and whose livelihoods are put at risk because creative content is stolen on a daily basis.
'The sector supports nearly two million jobs and with piracy depriving businesses of up to 20 per cent of revenues.
'The Judge has made it extremely clear that the Digital Economy Act is a fair, focussed, proportionate and efficient system for consumers and the creative industry.
'Rather than being hauled into court under the DEA, it will be possible for the creative industry to conduct a mass consumer education programme to give people the information they need to avoid using illegal sites in the future. The industry will finally be able to start repairing the damage wreaked by piracy.'
Notes:
The Digital Economy Act was challenged on five separate grounds by BT / Talk Talk.
The Judge has dismissed all challenges to the Digital Economy Act provisions made by the ISPs, except for a relatively narrow finding that the provisions of the draft Costs SI that provide for ISPs to pay part of the operating costs of OFCOM and the Appeals Body are unlawful as charging ISPs for this amounts to an administrative charge that is not permitted under the Authorisation Directive.
It will be for the Government to decide how best to address the costs sharing provision for the internal costs incurred by ISPs in receiving and processing CIRs.
The Intervening Group collectively represent some of those in the creative industries seeking protection against online copyright infringement. It comprises:
· The Unions: Equity, the Musicians' Union, BECTU and Unite
· The Producers Alliance for Cinema and TV ('PACT') -the UK trade association representing and promoting the commercial interests of independent feature film, TV, digital, children's and animation media companies.
· The British Video Association ('BVA') - the trade body that represents the interests of publishers and rights owners of video home entertainment.
· The Film Distributors' Association ('FDA') -the trade body for theatrical film distributors in the UK - the companies that release films for UK cinema audiences.
· The Motion Picture Association ('MPA') -represents the 6 major international producers and distributors of film, home entertainment and TV programmes.
· BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) ('BPI') - represents the interests of independent and major record companies in the UK. BPI currently has over 400 members who produce approximately 90% of the sound recordings which are sold legally within the UK.
· The Premier League - represents the interests of the 20 Premier League football clubs, including protecting the audio-visual works that are owned by and exclusively licensed by the Premier League.
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