UK Strengthens Punishment for Online Copyright Infringement

On May 18th, the United Kingdom's Digital Economy Bill was announced during the Queen’s Speech. Her Majesty reported, “Legislation will be introduced to improve Britain’s competitiveness and make the United Kingdom a world leader in the digital economy.” For the UK, this translates to new legislation protecting copyright infringement and encouraging creativity. The previously relevant legislation, the Digital Economy Act of 2010, declared the maximum sentence for online copyright infringement as two years. However, as internet usage and consumption have evolved, the UK has sought to update laws regarding copyright infringement and punishment thereon.

These changes come at an important time for the United Kingdom, since its citizens are streaming internet content in record numbers. According to the Online Copyright Infringement Tracker Latest Wave of Research, over 59% of UK internet users over the age of 12 consumed at least one item of online content in the last three months, which is a significant increase from previous time periods. The report estimates that 15% of UK internet users (approximately 6.7 million individuals) consumed at least one item of online content illegally during that same three-month period. Even more significantly, the report estimated that 5% of the 12+ UK internet users have exclusively consumed illegal content. With such high volumes of users consuming illegal content, the increased punishment for online copyright infringement, as outlined in the 2016 Digital Economy Bill, may come as no surprise.

In support of the Digital Economy Bill, the Intellectual Property Office released the Criminal Sanctions for Online Copyright Infringement: Government Consultation Response. In the ministerial foreword of the response, Lucy Neville-Rolfe justifies the increased copyright protection not only as means to protect intellectual property, but additionally as a means of supporting creative industries, which add £84.1 billion to the UK economy each year. By increasing the maximum sentence for online copyright infringement to ten years, the UK recognizes the parallel between online copyright infringement and physical infringement. Neville-Rolfe explains, “the provision of a maximum ten year sentence is designed to send a clear message to criminals that exploiting the intellectual property of others online without their permission not acceptable”.

The UK's new legislation is a prime example of growing concerns on the part of some stakeholders that current copyright law may be inadequate for addressing the concerns of the modern era. Increasing the penalties for online copyright infringement, as the UK has done, represents one popular path to improvement, although of course other stakeholders have argued otherwise for years. Needless to say, the Lumen project will continue to closely watch this critical aspect of the online content removal and enforcement ecosystem as it continues to evolve.