Communications minister, Ed Vaizey has warned that a code of practice being compiled in the US between ISPs and content owners could be a blueprint for other countries, including the UK.
The BBC reports that Vaizey described the code of practice as ‘game changer’ during his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Conference in London.
‘If people are streaming live football without permission we should look at ways we can stop them,’ he said. ‘People have the right to earn money from content they create.’ Vaizey also criticised ISPs, many of whom are oppose to restricting which websites their customers can visit, saying he found ‘their attitude odd.’
Last week, major film studios, including Warner Brothers and Disney asked the high court to force BT to block a website, Newzbin2, which they alleged infringes copyright on a large scale. A ruling is expected later this month.
It was also revealed last month that a coalition of rights holders, including the Premier League, the BPI, and the Motion Picture Association have lobbied the government to allow websites which are identified as persistent infringers of copyright to be blocked. Vaizey discussed the contents of the documents at a meeting of his internet stakeholders group last month but didn’t give details of those discussions during his speech.
