Cantillon: Content giants stray off course in piracy battle

The music industry was back in court last week to hear the result of an appeal in the latest battle over music piracy.

ISP Virgin Media had sought to overturn a High Court ruling last year that compelled the broadband provider to take steps to help cut down on copyright infringement on its network. That remedy ordered by the court would mean Virgin bearing most of the cost of implementing the software – an estimate of between €800,000 and €940,000.

Virgin had argued that the music companies should have to pay the lion’s share of the cost, a premise the court rejected in favour of the labels paying 20 per cent.

But you might be forgiven for wondering if music piracy is still a big deal, given the growth in popularity and availability of music streaming services. The labels seem to think it is, and there are a number of studies that back up its position that music piracy still happens.

However, the industry appears once again to be trailing developments in the tech industry.

Unauthorised streaming

An issue that might be more pressing is copyright infringement of movies and television programmes, with unauthorised streaming services proving hugely popular among those determined to keep up with the latest shows from the US. Closed Facebook groups discuss finding the best streams for US television shows or forthcoming Premier League football matches. And as quickly as they are turned off or taken down by authorities, streaming services pop up elsewhere in a virtual game of "whack a mole".

It’s an issue Irish ISPs may find themselves tackling sooner rather than later.

While the fight against piracy is an ongoing one, no matter how draconian the measures, the impact will be limited. There will always be those who don’t want to pay, no matter what the cost.

But, equally, there are large numbers of viewers who are simply looking for content they can’t access legally in their own territory, for various reasons.

Maybe the industry could save itself court time and expense by offering consumers globally a legitimate way to access content? It might be worth considering.