'Broadband settlement' being negotiated behind closed doors

 Talks between the British music industry and the ISPs to resolve the P2P / free downloads  logjam have been going on secretly for the past 2-3 weeks, it emerged today.  It is not clear exactly what kind of deal is anticipated, but it is believed that some kind of levy on ISP subscriptions is on the table, under the banner of a 'broadband settlement'. And there are indications that the British music industry is not going to push for French-style enforcement involving cutting off people's internet access. If that is the case - which remains to be seen, these talks could be positive. 

The existence of the talks became evident  at the Music Publishers Association AGM in London today, where management of the composers and authors collecting societies and music publishers gathered to review the  financial performance of this sector of the industry for 2007.  They appear to have begun about 2-3 weeks ago, and were presented as a change of heart by the ISP industry, that it is now willing to talk. A timeframe of the next 3-4 weeks to reach a conclusion has been suggested, but not confirmed.

Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of British Music Rights, confirmed that the talks are happening, but refused

Read more: British music industry in secret talks with ISPs

A new law, known as the Loi HADOPI after the authority which will oversee the implementation ( the High Authority for the diffusion of content and protection of rights on the Internet) sets out how users may be sanctioned by ISPs on behalf of copyright owners. Information will be passed between them via the HADOPI authority to get around data protection rules. Data retention laws will also be amended to enable the data to be stored for a year and accessed for the purposes of copyright protection.

Users will receive an electronic and a written warning, before being threatened with suspension of their account and ultimately termination (hence 3 strikes and you’re out!’. The electronic warnings will be sent to thousands of users, using an automated system. ISPs will be forced to check a blacklist of terminated users before signing up new customers, and fined if they fail to do so.

And a new Charter for ISPs, which will mandate the filtering of content. Filtering means the ISPs will check for anyone using P2P software and may slow it down or block it. They may also – depending on how it is implemented – be asked to open every packet of data to inspect it for copyrighted content. This would be the equivalent of asking the post office to open every envelope in case it contained copyrighted material.

The law is in draft form and is in the early stages of the French legislative process. 

The rationale for the law is that the French music industry has seen a 50% drop in volume and value over the past five years. France is concerned about the future of its cultural industries, which are importantly economically and culturally. The French cultural industry has collaborated with the Hollywood studios and the IFPI to lobby for copyright enforcement measures.

The "Telecoms Package" comprises reviews to 5 sets of directives, but for the copyright issue there are two which are important: Amendments to the Electronic communications: common regulatory framework for networks and services, access, interconnection and authorisation ( Directives 2002/19/EC to 2002/21/EC]) and the Electronic communications: universal

Read more: Telecoms Package Hidden Amendments