DEPARTMENT FOR
BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM News Release (2008/13)
issued by COI News Distribution Service. 15 January 2008
Last summer the
Department for Business launched a consultation on unlawful
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing and its impact on the British arts
and entertainment industries. The consultation called for evidence
on the issues involved and invited views from rights holders,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs), consumer organisations and the
wider public on a range of options to tackle the problem.
A summary of the responses published today, highlights that there
was no across-the-board support for the Government's
preferred co-regulatory proposal, which would give legal footing
to an industry code of conduct agreed by the rights holders and ISPs.
Minister for Technology, Communications and Broadband, Stephen
Carter said:
"I'm grateful for all the responses we received, which
point to a consensus on the need to educate consumers about the
economic importance of copyright material and the damaging effect
file-sharing has on Britain's creative industries. We've
also seen agreement on the need for legal content to be
innovative, attractive and easily-accessible. And it's clear
that consumers' concerns about data protection and privacy
must be addressed.
He continued:
"However, we received some opposing views on other issues -
including regulation - reflecting the fact that this is a complex
and challenging problem. We're now examining what the best
way forward is and will set out the next steps in the interim
Digital Britain report later this month."
Notes to Editors
1. The summary and list of responses is available at http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/sectors/digitalcon/p2presponses/page49707.html
2. The P2P consultation was a recommendation of the 2006 Gowers
Review of Intellectual Property. The consultation opened on 24
July 2008 and closed on 30 October.
3. Some respondents requested confidentiality for commercial
reasons; therefore the summary and comments published today refer
to the non-confidential responses only.
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory
Reform
7th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET
Public enquiries +44 (0)20 7215 5000
Textphone +44 (0)20 7215
6740 (for those with hearing impairment)
http://www.berr.gov.uk