TONO was one of the consultation bodies for the Ministry of Culture's consultation on amendments to the Copyright Act. TONO submitted its consultation response by the consultation deadline of Friday, September 30th.
/ 06/10/2011 / codex– Blocking websites is the most effective measure against illegal distribution of music, says TONO's CEO, Cato Strøm.
– The proposal to introduce a legal basis in Norwegian to prevent access to a website by deletion or blocking contributes to implementing Article 8.3 of the Copyright Directive and fulfilling Norway's obligations under the EEA Agreement, continues Strøm. This is what we tried to achieve in the so-called Telenor case. We did not reach a conclusion in court because this was not implemented in Norwegian law. Now it seems that we will have the necessary tool in place to prevent the illegal dissemination of copyrighted material.
– No, the music that is distributed on illegal websites is also available through legal services, so this is not a threat to freedom of expression or any form of censorship. There is no expression that is being prevented here. It is only a way to stop the illegal distribution of artistic expressions that are accessed through legal channels, Strøm emphasizes. The music industry has achieved what the opponents of measures against illegal file sharing are calling for, namely to utilize technology to create good, user-friendly services. We have that today, and therefore this is now an even weaker argument than it was before. I do not know of any other areas of society where it is accepted to appropriate what others have created, whether there are legal alternatives or not.
“Notification letters are a gentle way to inform those who engage in illegal file sharing that they are doing something illegal,” says Strøm. This gives them a warning and an opportunity to change their online behavior before the case is eventually taken to the legal system.
– We also suggest that the warning letters can be used to inform about the legal services that exist, which are also more user-friendly than the illegal ones. This would be an important and necessary supplement to the proposed measures aimed at websites, Strøm continues.
– When it comes to collecting data about IP addresses, there seems to be misunderstandings. Firstly, the proposed provisions are a clarification of already applicable Norwegian law. Secondly, it is IP addresses that are collected if there is suspicion of copyright infringement and personal data. Thirdly, and most importantly, it is the courts that, after a lengthy procedure, finally decide whether an Internet provider should be ordered to disclose the identity behind an IP address, concludes TONO's managing director.