Copyright holders have called on Ofcom to enable an upcoming anti-piracy regime to cover mobile operations – flagging up fears that the arrival of 4G broadband will see a growth in illegal file-sharing on the move.
Ofcom has layed out an Initial Obligations Code to bring the most controversial aspects of the Digital Economy Act into force.
However, the code only pertains to home broadband providers, at present, which are compelled to issue warnings to customers accused of copyright-infringement.
The Creative Coalition Campaign, which represents book, film and music copyright holders has voiced concerns alongside software industry lobby group FAST (The Federation Against Software Theft), which draws its members from software companies.
The CCC said “mobile operators will be able to offer much faster internet services.
“This, combined with fast rising ownership of tablet devices, is likely to lead to an increased level of infringement of other types of content such as films, TV programmes and live sport.
“The rise in ownership of e-readers and e-books is also likely to contribute to increased infringement on mobile networks.”
An Ofcom spokesperson said that while the initial scope of the Code had been determined, that did not mean that it is not adaptable. “We have made clear we will review the scope after six months to take account of emerging technologies.
“At the moment all the evidence says the vast majority of copyright infringement is one fixed line networks, not mobile networks.”
Source: Telegraph
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