Policy Observatory
Open Rights Group response to public consultation on copyright infringement sanctions
Open Rights Group (ORG) has responded to an Intellectual Property Office (IPO) consultation on proposals to increase the maximum prison sentence for criminal online copyright infringement to 10 years. The would bring sanctions for online copyright infringement in line with those for physical copyright infringement.
ORG agrees with the IPO that the online environment should not confer less protection for copyright holders. However, the IPO's proposals could mean that people who share links and files online without any financial gain could be punished more severely than criminals who commit physical theft, which has a maximum penalty of seven years.
Country: UK
Domains: IPR
Stakeholder: Civil Society
Tags: civil society, public consultation, IPR, copyright, Internet