If you prefer to steal your music rather than give your money to some millionaire-recording artist then next time you’d want to think twice, especially if you’re with Eircom.
Ireland’s four largest music labels, EMI, Sony, Warner and Universal have finally secured a court order that will see them reinstating their “3-strike and you’re gone” practise at the internet service provider Eircom. But what’s this 3-strike thing?
Well, if you don’t remember, back in 2009 EMI, Sony, Warner and Universal, or the ‘Big Four’ as they’ve been dubbed in the media, brought in a practise that warned users when they were downloading illegal material. Once a customer got 3-strikes their internet would be cut off, if they were with Eircom that is.
However, in October 2010, Eircom mistakenly sent out 300 warning letters to completely innocent internet users. This c*ck-up saw the Data Protection Commissioner getting involved and the practise was eventually stopped… until now.
Now it looks as though it’s going to start up again very shortly after the Big Four won a ruling at the Commercial Court yesterday. According to torrentfreak.com, we could also see other ISP’s – such as UPC and WiMax – falling suit as they will no doubt come under serious pressure from the Big Four.
So next time you’re thinking of illegally downloading a few tunes, think again.
