Web piracy showdown due in court

Broadband providers and content owners will square off in the High Court on March 23 in a judicial review of the UK government’s attempts to control piracy online.

BT and TalkTalk are challenging the legitimacy of parts of the Digital Economy Act, which was passed in the dying days of the Labour government. Four of their five complaints over the legislation relate to legal technicalities over whether the law breaches European telecoms, privacy and e-commerce directives. However, the heart of the legal battle will be fought over whether the act’s provisions against piracy are proportionate – allowing both sides of this highly polarized debate to air well-rehearsed arguments about the potential harm to telecom companies and their customers or the content industry and its employees. As part of the hearings, trade bodies representing rights holders such as television producers, sports groups, record labels and movie studios are expected to intervene to defend the act’s long-sought measures to send warning letters and use other tactics against people caught downloading content illicitly.