Since the Hadopi Law started to be applied in November, the French Government has already alerted more than 100 thousand internet users, so that they stop with the download illegal content. The notices follow each other at an average of two thousand a day.
«Your Internet access was used to make available, reproduce or access cultural works protected by copyright», says the message sent by email to the alleged offenders.
The same warning serves to remind that the holder of the Internet connection is the person «legally responsible» for the same and recalls the duties of responsibility in protecting access to the network.
Despite the effort of the French Government, the number of users who received the warning is expected to represent only about three percent of the entire universe of French Internet users who, according to the accounts of the audiovisual industry, download illegal content, says Le Figaro.
Contrary to the original proposal of the Government party, led by Sarkozy, deprivation of access to the Internet will not be decided by a body created to oversee the Law, Hadopi, but by the courts that ended up curbing the initial formulation of the legislation , already amended following criticism from the opposition, on several points.
Hadopi was born, however, and it is the body that will monitor the application of legislation and refer cases to cases in which more drastic measures are needed. The French will have three warnings before facing deprivation of Internet access for a maximum period of one year.
After the warning messages, three lawyers analyze each case and recommend a decision to the judge who, after a second warning, in a registered letter, can order the connection to be broken with the offenders.
In Portugal, the most recent effort to stop piracy came from ACAPOR, which in January promises to deliver a list of 1,000 IP addresses of users who downloaded pirated films to the Attorney General’s Office. Thereafter, every month there will be an identical listing, with the same volume of mentioned.
Meanwhile, AFP is holding a series of meetings with political parties to raise awareness of the need to change current legislation. The association’s estimates point to a 70 percent loss in turnover in the music industry due to piracy over the past five years. In total, the number of units sold was reduced by more than 50 percent, with about 60 percent being lost in direct jobs.
The law adopted in France is considered an example to follow, according to AFP.
