Hadopi - three strikes and …. it’s out!

The French farce continues.

After passage through a singularly empty French assembly, then return to a more populous house, the Hadopi law (Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Oeuvres et la Protection des droits sur Internet - Higher Authority for the Distribution of Works and the Protection of Copyright on the Internet) has now received a further setback.

The superior court in France, the French Consititutional Court, has now ruled that access to Internet services can only be denied on the authority of a judge. The court has recognised the view in the European Parliament that Internet access is a basis human right - as also now recognied by Ofcom in the UK. The introduction of the bill to create the Hadopi in France was contentious - in France and elsewhere. Supported by President Nicolas Sarkozy the bill would have created a new agency with the power to disconnect users on third notification of file sharing infringement. The agency would also place the users on a blocklist to prevent them from simply migrating to another provider. This cannot now happen - any process to remove a user access must now go before a court and a judge - with the user able to defend his position in court.

The UK Government has already indicated that it does not favour the 3 strikes approach - again echoing the view that broadband access is now seen as a basic human right.

It’s back to the drawing board for the rights owners. Perhaps these actions might just focus their minds to consider some new business models. But then ‘les cochons peuvent voler’ as they might say in France.