Three Strikes in Ireland

Here's another example of consumers being left out in the cold.

This is a good article by an Irish lawyer, T. J. McIntyre, about EIRCOM'S (Ireland's largest ISP) recent decision to settle litigation at the suit of the music industry by casting aside the interests of its subscribers.

This was a voluntary settlement, and hence not a judicial precedent. Whether it becomes and industry norm in Ireland will depend, perhaps, on how much competition there is in between the ISPs and whether the ISPs have conflicting interests (as some do in Canada) that would work against consumers.

It's worth noting that in the BMG v. John Doe downlaoding/file sharing litigation in Canada in 2004 (in which I was involved), only Shaw and Telus forecefully opposed the music industry. Bell had little to say and Rogers had even less. Videotron was basically on the music industry's side.

HK