Record companies target ISP in Irish first
Four major record companies went into the High Court this afternoon in an effort to force Eircom to take measures to stop its networks being used for the illegal downloading of music. The MD of EMI records and chairman of the Irish Recorded Music Association Willie Kavanagh told the court that because of illegal downloading and other factors, the Irish music industry had experienced “a dramatic and accelerating decline” in income, with the Irish market suffering a decline in total sales from €146 million in 2001 to €102 million last year.
Eircom’s lawyers said the company was not on notice of specific illegal activity that infringed the rights of the companies and had no legal obligation to monitor traffic on its network, reports Mary Carolan on the Irish Times Breakinge News site. Mr Kavanagh said that, “with the greatest of respect” to Eircom, it was “well aware” its facilities were being used to violate the property rights of record companies. The case is due to be held in the Commercial Court. I’m not sure how much can be said about the action, given the fact that the matter is now before the courts, but it certainly is a story that looks set to run and run.
