Hefty penalties for those found guilty of copyright infringement – including prison sentences of up to a maximum of ten years – are now in force, after the highly-anticipated Digital Economy Bill gained royal assent from Parliament last week.
The Bill, which is now law across the UK, makes provision for copyright holders to potentially pursue claims against infringers of any size – including, in theory, ‘small scale’ infringers such as internet users who regularly download or upload copyrighted content.
Under the new rules, those found guilty of copyright infringement could potentially face penalties of up to ten years’ imprisonment – up from the previous maximum penalty of just two years’ imprisonment.
However, the Government has previously insisted that ‘regular’ members of the public will not be targeted with the new powers over small scale offences, including sharing copyrighted content ‘occasionally’.
The new legislation, which was first unveiled during the Queen’s Speech in May 2016, initially faced strong opposition from the Open Rights Group (OGR), but the Government refused to soften its approach to the ongoing copyright challenges the UK continues to face.
The Bill was discussed in the House of Commons on 26 April and subsequently gained royal assent the following day.