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18/08/2008
Fines and jail terms for online copyright infringement could increase |
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The UK Intellectual Property Office has been soliciting public comment about changes to the nation's copyright laws that could result in fines increasing.
Those convicted of online copyright infringement could face fines of up to £50,000 for "commercial scale infringements".
Potential changes to copyright legislation have come about as a result of the analysis of the copyright and intellectual property law, as outlined in the Gower Report.
At present, those found guilty of physical copyright infringement could face up to ten years in prison whilst the equivalent punishment for online infringement stands at two years.
According to John Timmer, writing for Arts technica, "the proposed changes make a degree of sense. Commercial piracy is big business, and the existing penalties were unlikely to provide a significant deterrent."
However, Mr Timmer also stated that there would still be no guidelines given to either judges or magistrates on how to detect online commercial scale infringements.
The Gower report was written by former Financial Times editor Andrew Gower. |
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