IRMA (the Irish Recorded Music Association) requires mobile operators to introduce �three-strikes� regime allowing to disconnect users repeatedly accused of copyright infringement.

The Irish Recorded Music Association keeps trying to ensure that people face a �three-strikes� regime every single time they go to the Internet, both through home broadband or mobile operator Internet connections.

The first target of IRMA among ISPs back two years ago was Eircom, the country�s largest Internet provider covering 40% of the market. At the beginning Eircom refused to implement such measure and argued it didn�t have any legal obligation to control traffic on its own network. Unfortunately, after growing legal pressure, the ISP finally made a decision to get out of the court and agreed to introduce a �three-strikes� regime to tackle unauthorized file-sharing. The policy officially came into effect at the end of May this year.

IRMA�s general director Dick Doyle also said that they are on the later stages of negotiations with 2 other ISPs on the issue of implementing a voluntary policy intended on disconnecting repeat infringers. Those two are believed to be Eircom�s mobile subsidiary Meteor as well as Vodafone.

Meanwhile, IRMA makes sure no Internet connection is deprived of its attention and keeps serving notice to some mobile operators too. It is reported to file plenary summonses against O2 & 3 Ireland in order to demand them to implement a �three-strikes� system on their networks.

The representatives for both have admitted they have received the legal letters from the Irish Recorded Music Association. However, so far only O2 firmly declares that it cannot be hold responsible for the unauthorized actions of its users. Its statement says that O2 is reviewing the issue at the moment, but it doesn�t think it can be legally responsible on the issue of unauthorized file-sharing activities any of its users might be engaged in.

The attempts of the Irish entertainment industry against home broadband connections are to be continued with a court hearing against UPC Ireland in two weeks.

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Bo pen nyang.

To be honest, Taike, it's about time...

Let's not split hairs. The internet is being used to STEAL legitimately produced commercial content, whether music, movies or software. All of these industries have been hammered by piracy. Why SHOULDN'T one industry that produces content sue another that facilitates the theft? Why SHOULDN'T they push for legislation to restore profitability to content delivery?

Let's face it... if you don't steal music, movies or software, how is any of this going to affect you?

But if you DO....

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Three strikes out...

Utter Bull, people will go and use coded data and none can see whats downloaded and it takes weeks to decode...

I bet they want the ISP's to pay for all of the technical feautures needed to controll the data.

The music buiseness, is sick.... as long as musicians only make a few cents from every CD sold then the current shop prices are unfair and held up there by monopoly positions by the record companies... This is highly illegal in europe.

Overhere in Holland downloading or picking up anything else from the ether is legal..

Only using copied software is illegal... And sharing music and movies is illegal too.

Currently overhere in Holland most poiliticians agree that there should be some standard fee for internet connections that allows to download all you want.

Musicians will be payed from those fees.. same as with radio stations.

The current pricing models are sick, one they they show a movie on tele for free, but i am not allowed to VCR it and watch it a few days later.

I just say wake up and get rid of the music companies mafia.

When it comes to anything that involves the Law in Ireland you can expect it to never work. This country is as backwards as it gets and this is how all this will go down.

1: Some kid downloads a movie and doesn't care.
2: The kid gets his 3 strikes warning and still doesn't care.
3: Kid is then sued and he sill does not care.
4: Kid then counter sues IRMA and Eircom for millions and wins because Eircom who you have your Internet Contract with do NOT police your activity. They have handed it all over to IRMA and others who have setup a separate organisation to police your activity.

This is illegal
It's a direct loilation of the data privacy act. In fact I would be surprised if Eircom are not the first to get sued for allowing someone else to access your private information.

This country in is nuts and this sort of thing goes on all the time. Don't even get me started on the government

James

PS. This all only applies to Torrents anyway, and unless your a complete idiot, this will never effect anyone anyway.

It's always disappointing to read posts from those who basically try to excuse their theft by trying to point out that the 'artist' receives a small share of the profits... Might as well say that it's OK to steal cars, because the worker on the assembly line makes a pittance, too!

But, trust me on this one, if it were YOU making your 'pittance' from the record company, and people were stealing the music and you consequently didn't even get the pittance that you ARE supposed to get, how would you feel?

Look at all the multi-millionaires and even billionaires that have been made by artists that leveraged their success... I guess you ought to say you SHOULDN'T steal THEIR music, because they are profiting from it? Or, is the new self-justification in their case, they already have a lot of money, and don't deserve any more?

Every burglar, every Ponzi-scheme operator, every confidence trickster, every mugger has an excuse to make themselves feel better about stealing from you. And, so it appears, do those that think there is no harm in downloading for free something that costs a FORTUNE to make...

Try this out... next gig you go to, say there's a cover charge to get in, and you make that as your fee. You have worked long and hard to build up the clientele. Now, the club owner lets everyone in for free, and tells you you won't get paid tonight. Who do you go after? The club owner, for letting everyone in for free, the patrons themselves (if you can find them) or do you just stop playing for a living and do it for free from now on...?

That is what you are expecting from the recording and movie industries...

James,

I am not impressed with your negative comments about Ireland.


Frank

[This message has been edited by Mockie (edited 06-10-2010).]

[This message has been edited by Mockie (edited 06-10-2010).]

When you consider the sheer number of musicians, and members of Joe Public via obscene markups, who have been royally screwed by the record companies for decades, it's a wonder said record companies have any allies at all. This industry has more sharks than you'll find swimming off the Florida coast.

Canada is mulling over updated laws on this, but it already pisses me off that we are charged a levy when buying a stack of CDs to cover artists' commissions (that is if the artist ever gets to see said levy - sorry if I sound suspicious). Not only that, I'm paying this fee even if I'm using the CD's to burn my own original songs on my own computer.

So, the question that arises is this: If I've already paid a levy up front, how can they come after me when my ass is legally covered?

As I have said before, if you think it is so easy to run a record company AND pay the musicians what they want, and stay in business, have at it! It's a LOT more expensive than you think it is. For every hit a record company has, they probably release 100 songs that don't hit. But they cost as much to make and distribute...

Yes, there are sharks in the music business. There are sharks in EVERY business. Business attracts sharks! But no-one says that, if migrant crop pickers are payed lousy, mistreated and intimidated by the companies that hire THEM, lettuce should be free... just go down the supermarket and steal it!

But mysteriously, that's how people think about music.

Sad...

Trouble is, the same mechanism that prevents record companies (those rotters!) from getting any money out of their product (rampant piracy) is the exact same mechanism to steal music even from musicians that are NOT being exploited by a record company. Some musicians produce and distribute their own product, and some musicians have excellent relations with their record companies. But they are ALL being stolen from... Nobody is looking up anyone's contract and going 'He's getting ten points on this CD, we won't download that!', they just steal it all anyway.

Bottom line is, why should anyone pay YOU for your live performance? Why do you deserve to get paid, but the artist and record company that made a CD shouldn't? You are being 'exploited' by club owners and restaurant owners (all of whom are doing MUCH better than you are ), so consequently, if there's any logic to the stealing of music from a record company because they are doing well off the back of a poorly paid musician (and the hell with whether it hurts the musician, too), why shouldn't you get stiffed for your live performances, too?

I mean, you won't MIND playing for free from now on, will you? It's what you expect of recording artists...

The real pirates don't use Torrents or P2P software, they get everything they want from the Newsgroup services they subscribe to which can't be monitored by a 3rd party. So how can that be stopped? I really can't see how.