14 DAY TRIAL // Media corporations have been trying to sneak past draconian copyright infringement laws in plenty of places around the world. Unfortunately, their attempts have actually been successful more often than not.
One such law is the UK Digital Economy Act, which was rushed through Parliament with little discussion while the country was focused on other matters.
But, even though the law was passed and came into effect, it didn't really mean anything. ISPs refused to obey some of the measures required by the new law, such as notifying their customers that some media company believed they were infringing or even slowing down their connection if some media company believed they were infringing.
Two ISPs took the matter to court, BT and Talk Talk. They argued that the law, in its current form, went against EU legislation and may be unenforceable. However, the High Court found that there was no problem with the law as it was and rejected their claim.
The two ISPs appealed that decision only to have their appeal rejected once again, today, meaning that they will be forced to carry out the bidding of media industry companies.
For now, this means that they will have to start sending letters to their customers notifying them that they are infringing on someone's copyright via their actions. The letters are aimed to act as deterrents and will be sent at the ISPs' expense.
However, if these letters will be found to be ineffective in combating online piracy, as they will most likely be, ISPs are required to take technical measures against repeat offenders, such as slowing down their connections.
The two ISPs say they are not satisfied with the result of the appeal and that they are considering their options. It is likely that the case will go all the way up to the Supreme Court.