An interesting post here from the BBC.
I think there are some issues. As I understand the law - and I am often wrong - there is no such offence as theft of intellectual property. There are statutory offences of copyright infringement but copyright infringement is not theft. I am wary at attempts to invoke offences such as conspiracy to defraud. Right owners deserve to be protected but I am not sure that the involvement of police units normally used in the fight against organised crime and drug dealers is necessarily appropriate in an IP context.
There does seem to be a trend of colluding "theft" and "copyright infringement" — unfortunately so, in my opinion, as it overstates copyright, as well as making people think of its infringement predominantly as a criminal matter. Rightholders do deserve protection — whilst recognising that the protection of property is not absolute, and that copyright is a series of time-limited rights, with some exceptions and permitted uses, and that there are other rights potentially at play too.
ReplyDeleteThe overall approach concerns me substantially — I don't know the details of this particular site, but care must be taken not to stifle innovation and creativity of third party services. Similarly, the involvement of the police seems disproportionate, and the statements on the site perhaps questionable at best.