New Law Dealing With Illegal Downloading

It is 640 in the evening. I want to blog about something but I just don't know what to write but finally I found something interesting. It concerns us as the Internet users and it even more concern those who love spend their time downloading musics and movie.

The new law is about to introduced soon if this new is passed by the Parliament. This new law deals with the illegal downloading of musics and movies. Thus, basically this is another copyright law which focusing on the act of downloading musics and movies using P2P software.

New law to end illegal downloading of music and movies

KUALA LUMPUR: The free-and-easy days of illegal downloading of music and movies may soon be over. A proposed new law will enable Internet Service Providers (ISP) to suspend or terminate the Internet accounts of P2P (peer-to-peer) users.

This new law called the ISP Liability act, will be tabled in Parliament next month, according to Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) chairman Norman Halim.

RIM has been lobbying the Government for an ISP Liability act for the past 5 years as illegal online downloads have been cannibalising the legitimate sales of music, worldwide.

“The act makes the ISPs responsible for curbing online piracy. The ISPs will be fined if they don’t take action against illegal downloaders. The ISPs have the technology to track P2P users,” said Norman.

However, he said that the fine amount had yet to be determined.

ISPs will send two warning letters to illegal downloaders. Should the downloaders still persist, the Internet access will be suspended or even terminated.

“Other countries that have such an act have seen their respective music industries recover. One good example would be South Korea,” he said.

The Star Online

 
Hopefully this law will not have retrospective effect. Retrospective effet mean the wrongful act prior to the enactment of law also be liable under that law. For example if the law came into force on 28 May 1986 and X committed the offence on 1 Mat 1986. If the said law has retrospective effect, then X still guilty even the offence before the law came into force.