12/04/2010

The British film industry has welcomed the Digital Economy Bill that became law last week.

Phil Clapp of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association’s said, “I join others representing the interests of hundreds of thousands of people working in the UK creative and media industries in welcoming the passage of this vital piece of legislation. I think that the bravery of politicians of all parties in backing these provisions – in the face of a concerted campaign of scare mongering and disinformation by its opponents – should be recognised.

“As those others have also said, however, the hard work now really begins for all involved. Firstly in developing a Code of Practice with Ofcom and industry partners, but more importantly, in ensuring that efforts to make legitimate film content available online to consumers are redoubled.”

Lavinia Carey, Director General of the British Video Association, said, “The BVA is delighted to see the Digital Economy Bill successfully passed with clauses in place to protect copyright holders from peer-to-peer file sharing as well as from illegal sites offering copyright material for free.”

However, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group that opposes the Bill said, “People’s rights are at stake. The Bill doesn’t require any test of evidence before harsh punishments are imposed on people accused of copyright infringement, and opens the door to a ratcheting up of unwarranted powers without democratic scrutiny. There is a massive swell of action against this Bill, led by creators, citizens and people working in digital industries, who are outraged by this attempt by old businesses to hijack our rights.”