Rights holders including the Premier League have been allowed to speak up for the Digital Economy Act.
The controversial act was pushed through during the so-called wash-up phase ahead of the elections last spring. One aspect of it could see ISPs forced to cut off illegal file-sharers.
Claiming the costs of setting up such a system would be prohibitive, ISPs BT and TalkTalk won a judicial review of the act.
The act can help repair the damage that illegal downloading causes to the UK creative industry
Now, a High Court ruling has allowed a host of rights owners to also take part in the judicial review. The court gave permission to the Premier League, Producers’ Alliance for Cinema and Television (Pact), and seven other organisations to submit written statements to the review or stand up in court.
“The act can help repair the damage that illegal downloading causes to the UK creative industry and reduce the threat to the hundreds of thousands of jobs that the creative companies supports,” John McVay, chief executive of Pact, told the Guardian. “The DEA is the result of many years of consultation and presents a reasonable and balanced solution.”
Alongside Pact and the Premier League, the review will also hear from the British Video Association, Film Distributor’s Association, the Motion Picture Association, the BPI, and unions Equity, Bectu and the Musicians’ Union.
BT and TalkTalk will also be involved, as will the Open Rights Group.
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.
