And it is thanks to these blocks on copyright grounds that UK citizens are subject to some of the most extensive internet censorship performed by any country.
Under government instructions, UK ISPs are among the most fervent blockers of torrent sites in the world.
But the fact it has refused to set a threshold on how the law can be applied remains deeply worrying and means that, according to the letter of the law, you can be jailed for ten years for torrenting a single movie. The government claims that only large-scale commercial pirates will be targeted, and no-one has (yet) got into trouble for torrenting for personal use. Copyright pirates who share infringing material can now be jailed for up to ten years.Ī person who infringes copyright in a work by communicating the work to the public commits an offense if (the person) knows or has reason to believe that (they are) infringing copyright in the work, and knows or has reason to believe that communicating the work to the public will cause loss to the owner of the copyright, or will expose the owner of the copyright to a risk of loss. Successive British governments have been among the world's most enthusiastic supporters of copyright holder rights. United Kingdom Copyright infringement: Criminal Offence Punishment: Up to 10-years in prison and an unlimited fine they exist, and copyright infringement is treated as a civil offense).īut there is often little political will to uphold such laws, resulting in copyright holders concentrating their enforcement efforts on more lucrative markets where (often very expensive) legal action is likely to be successful and to be profitable for the copyright holder. Outside of Europe and North America, most copyright laws are in line with international norms (i.e. This means that, in addition to being ordered to pay civil damages, offenders may face criminal prosecution. In some places (notably the UK), copyright infringement is a criminal offense. This can be ruinously expensive for those unfortunate enough to be made an example of in this way but does not result in a criminal conviction. This means that copyright owners can take offenders to court in order to obtain civil damages against them for loss of income. In most countries, copyright infringement for purely personal use (such as most torrenting) is a civil offense.