U.K. mobile broadband provider O2 has condemned a law firm for sending threat letters to alleged illegal file-sharers.
ACS: Law, on behalf of anti-piracy firm DigiProtect, has sent thousands of letters to people suspected of sharing copyrighted media. To quote Ralph Lucas of the U.K. House of Lords, these are essentially "pay up or else" schemes, sometimes on behalf of the pornographic industry, and sometimes by software rights holders or other small companies. The letters are being sent by the thousands, and file-sharers are given the option to either defend themselves or settle the matter out of court.
O2, whose mobile broadband subscribers have received some of these letters, doesn't approve of these attempts to "bully or threaten our customers," the BBC reports.
"Where we are legally obliged to provide information and the correct paperwork is presented, we will comply with the law," an O2 spokesman told the BBC. "But we prefer the 'win-win' approach of encouraging the development of new business models that offer customers the content they want, how they want it, for a fair price."
Why is this coming up now? Probably because two partners in another law firm, Davenport Lyons, were recently disciplined for the very same tactics, which occasionally snared innocent people. ACS: Law has taken up many of Davenport Lyons' cases, and is under investigation itself by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Meanwhile, ACS: Law has identified roughly 60,000 IP addresses of suspected file sharers. The law firm is applying for court orders that require ISPs to reveal mailing addresses, and says that for every 1,000 court orders it requests, it can get 400 addresses.
Interestingly enough, the British Phonographic Industry -- the U.K. equivalent of the Recording Industry Association of America -- isn't pursuing the same tactics. The music industry wants parliament to approve a process of gentler warning letters, followed by eventual suspension of Internet service for repeat offenders.
O2 has the right idea in calling for new business models instead of lawsuits, but it's an empty gesture if the government, the entertainment industry and their lawyers aren't willing to listen.
