French Internet service providers have begun to receive the first lists with IP addresses of alleged «pirates» who are their customers and about whom they must provide information such as name, address, email and telephone number.
The measure marks the beginning of the application of the new French law against piracy. Also known as the Hadopi Law, it came into force earlier this year, after a controversial process of discussion and approval, which mobilized public opinion for enshrining the most rigorous European penal framework for the violation of intellectual property rights.
With the new legal diploma, ISPs are required to provide customer data identified as alleged copyright infringers, with eight days to submit the information, under penalty of being fined 1,500 euros for each IP address they do not identify .
According to some local media, one of the main Internet access providers confirmed that it had received the first batch of IP addresses for identification a few days ago, with the number of requests expected to rise to around 150,000 addresses per day.
Once identified, users receive up to three notices, which are made by their Internet service provider. If they persist in practice, the case is referred to a judge, to determine the sanctions to be applied – which can range from fines to deprivation of the Internet connection.
