I'm sure all of you have heard your favorite author or musician talk about copyright infringement and how the detrimental effects of downloading from file sharing sites essentially eats away at our livelihoods.Put away the cheese! My post will not be another whine fest. In fact, a little celebrating is order! Recently and after considerable due diligence, a group of content companies and Internet service providers announced a new consumer education initiative called the Copyright Alert System that will notify Internet service subscribers when their accounts are being used to download copyrighted materials.
According to the newly established Center for Copyright Information, the program will be similar to the fraud alerts consumers receive about their credit card or bank accounts. Instead of one email, the system will send up to five alerts if the violation persists.
For example, if a person downloads my book Forever, I Do from a content sharing site, the user will receive an alert from their Internet Service Provider. The alert will identify their account as being misused for content theft. The email will also explain the violation, define copyright infringement and remind them of the terms they agreed upon when they signed up for the Internet service.
If the problem persists, the consumer will receive another email alert containing an online form acknowledging receipt of the previous communication. If the person continues to violate their ISP's piracy terms, then the Internet Service Provider can take action via "mitigating measures" which may include: redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts his/her ISP or slower Internet speeds.
The Center for Copyright Infringement hopes that the situation won't go that far. They believe that most people don't even realize that downloading and sharing copyrighted material is illegal. So the backbone of their alert system is to help consumers do the right thing. And according to the Center's website, once a consumer is educated about copyright infringement most will stop engaging in illegal downloading and turn to a legitimate outlet like Loose-Id.com to either sample or purchase content.
So, the alert is sort of like the security guard in a department store. If you know he/she is watching, you'll be less tempted to steal that yellow polka dot bikini you've been hankering for since the January thaw. Instead, you'll either wait until it goes on sale or find a knock off at your friendly neighborhood superstore.
Personally, I have high hopes that the group's educational initiative will work. I liken the alert to a warning label, but with a win-win outcome for all. The consumer will be educated, while the owner will continue to be rightly compensated. It's the American Way.
So what do you think about the new system? Do you think it will work or just amount to a hill of beans?
To learn more about the Center for Copyright Information and their copyright alert system you can visit their official website. To learn more about Koko Brown, you can visit me at http://www.kokobrown.net/.
