Center for Copyright Information
Encyclopedia
The Center for Copyright Information (CCI) is an American organization created by large media corporations which aims to curtail online
copyright infringement
by informing the public about online copyright
law. The Center is responsible for creating the Copyright Alert System which uses Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to alert users of instances of copyright infringement online. In this system, the ISPs will send out up to six electronic alerts in an attempt to notify their subscribers of alleged copyright infringement and allow subscribers to curb such infringement. If abuse continues, the CCI suggests more severe measures which may be taken by the ISPs in order to deter copyright infringement.
"The companies and associations involved in establishing the CCI include:
Independent Film & Television Alliance
.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
is credited as helping the parties negotiate and create the Copyright Alerts System.
administration, which acknowledged the importance of the CCI's Alert System and its effort to improve online law enforcement and public education on copyright infringement.
The CCI believes that the Copyright Alert System will be effective in reducing both intentional and unintentional copyright infringement. By providing willing infringers with information regarding the serious consequences of copyright infringement, the CCI hopes to steer would-be infringers to the myriad legal online content providers such as Netflix
and iTunes
. The CCI hopes that unwitting infringers, such as those whose home networks have been hijacked by unauthorized users or the parents of children who are infringing, will use the knowledge that their account is being used for copyright infringement to force users of the account to curtail these activities. The CCI also hopes to increase parents’ involvement in what their children are doing online by alerting misconduct and abuse of their accounts.
Users who download content (such as movies, television shows, or music) without authorization will be issued online alerts by the Copyright Alert system, sent via their ISPs. Users who continue to participate in online copyright infringement may be issued up to six alerts in the form of pop-up messages and e-mails.
The system of alerts is as follows:
These Mitigation Measures may include: "temporary reductions of Internet speeds, redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts the ISP to discuss the matter or reviews and responds to some educational information about copyright, or other measures (as specified in published policies) that the ISP may deem necessary to help resolve the matter”.
standards. The Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) has been particularly thorough in its criticisms.
The EFF cites a number of problems with the agreement. Firstly, the EFF criticizes the lack of subscriber representation in the CCI, noting that the establishment of the CCI involved only large media corporations and ISPs, but left out representatives of the subscribers who purchase these companies' products. Further, the CCI only allows for a three person advisory board from consumer interest groups, while the executive board is composed of six representatives from the media companies and ISPs, an arrangement which the EFF believes to be inadequate for consumer representation.
The EFF also argues that the Mitigation Measures to be undertaken by ISPs in response to alleged copyright infringement are overly harsh, as they may be used to deny consumers access to the Internet, which EFF maintains is as fundamental a right in the digital era as is access to other utilities such as electricity. The EFF also notes that the Mitigation Measures may be imposed without any due process
, placing the burden of proof on consumers to show that allegations of copyright infringement are unfounded. The organization recommends that, in the absences of copyright infringement detection systems which have been demonstrated to be entirely accurate, the burden of proof must be on the content providers to show copyright infringement prior to harsh Mitigation Measures such as shutting off a consumer's Internet access.
Additionally, the EFF claims that the CCI's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) creates a system which does not allow consumers to mount a useful defense against copyright infringement. The MOU only allows consumers 10 days to respond to allegations of copyright infringement, which the EFF believes to be far too short to mount a credible defense. Moreover, the MOU only allows consumers to use six defenses to copyright infringement, ignoring other means of defense such as the "fair use" defense enabled by . The EFF believes that subscribers must be allowed a longer period of time to mount a defense based on the full spectrum of copyright infringement defense strategies prior to Mitigation Measures being imposed.
Finally, the EFF argues that the procedure for objecting to an alert is unfairly burdensome to the consumer and biased towards the media companies. For a $35 fee, a consumer may challenge an alert issued by the new system. The challenge goes to a supposedly independent lawyer versed in copyright law; if the review concludes that the consumer is innocent of copyright infringement, the $35 is refundable. The EFF notes, however, that there is no penalty imposed upon media companies for false copyright infringement assertions, giving companies no disincentive to overclaim copyright infringement. Moreover, the EFF is concerned that, given the low cost of case review, few independent lawyers will be involved in reviewing consumer objections to copyright infringement allegations and that the reviewers will be financially connected to the media companies claiming infringement. In order to avoid such a system of perverse incentives, the EFF argues that all reviewer resumes be made public and that media companies be held liable if they make false allegations of copyright infringement.
Challis, Ben, “US content industry and ISPs to inform and alert”, The 1709 Blog, July 8, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
Suarez, Paul, ”Copyright Cops Team with ISPs to Crack Down on Music, Movie Pirates”, PCWorld.com, July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
Kravets, David, "ISPs to Disrupt Internet Access of Copyright Scofflaws", Wired, July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
by informing the public about online copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
law. The Center is responsible for creating the Copyright Alert System which uses Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to alert users of instances of copyright infringement online. In this system, the ISPs will send out up to six electronic alerts in an attempt to notify their subscribers of alleged copyright infringement and allow subscribers to curb such infringement. If abuse continues, the CCI suggests more severe measures which may be taken by the ISPs in order to deter copyright infringement.
Composition
The CCI is composed of several media industry corporations and associations attempting to employ a new system of copyright alerts in order to curtail online copyright infringement. The CCI focuses on protecting copyrighted material’s distribution online, asserting in a public statement that it “will also help to develop and confirm “best-practices” for a new system of Copyright Alerts, similar to credit card fraud alerts, which will alert internet service subscribers when potential content theft is identified on their Internet accounts” The Internet Alert System uses ISPs to notify a user that his or her account is being used for online copyright infringement. These notifications are intended to alert users who accidentally or intentionally downloaded content without permission of their misconduct and urge them to stop this behavior. If users continue to engage in illegal activities after several alerts, more severe measures, known as "Mitigation Measures", are to be taken."The companies and associations involved in establishing the CCI include:
- Motion Picture Association of AmericaMotion Picture Association of AmericaThe Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
(MPAA) members: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Paramount PicturesParamount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, Sony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal StudiosUniversal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, and Warner Brothers Entertainment.
Independent Film & Television Alliance
Independent Film & Television Alliance
The Independent Film & Television Alliance is the trade association that represents companies that finance, produce and license independent film and television programming worldwide. The association is headquartered in Los Angeles but has a worldwide membership and scope of services and advocacy....
.
- Recording Industry Association of AmericaRecording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) members: Universal Music GroupUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, Warner Music GroupWarner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, Sony Music EntertainmentSony Music EntertainmentSony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
, and EMI Music. - American Association of Independent MusicAmerican Association of Independent MusicThe American Association of Independent Music, or A2IM, is a not-for-profit trade organization serving the Independent music community as a unified voice representing a sector that comprises over 30% of the music industry's market share in the United States...
. - ISPs including: AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Cablevision, ComcastComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, Time Warner CableTime Warner CableTime Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, and Verizon.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
is credited as helping the parties negotiate and create the Copyright Alerts System.
Copyright Alert System
The Copyright Alert System is intended to decrease online copyright infringement. The system is designed to notify Internet subscribers when their accounts are being used to illicitly obtain or distribute copyrighted information and warn them of potential consequences of such actions. The CCI believes that, given proper information about copyright protection, most Internet subscribers will quickly remedy the situation. Observers note that "the proposal appears to have the potential to become one of the most potent antipiracy strategies ever implemented". This anti-piracy coalition has also enjoyed the support of the Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
administration, which acknowledged the importance of the CCI's Alert System and its effort to improve online law enforcement and public education on copyright infringement.
The CCI believes that the Copyright Alert System will be effective in reducing both intentional and unintentional copyright infringement. By providing willing infringers with information regarding the serious consequences of copyright infringement, the CCI hopes to steer would-be infringers to the myriad legal online content providers such as Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. The CCI hopes that unwitting infringers, such as those whose home networks have been hijacked by unauthorized users or the parents of children who are infringing, will use the knowledge that their account is being used for copyright infringement to force users of the account to curtail these activities. The CCI also hopes to increase parents’ involvement in what their children are doing online by alerting misconduct and abuse of their accounts.
Users who download content (such as movies, television shows, or music) without authorization will be issued online alerts by the Copyright Alert system, sent via their ISPs. Users who continue to participate in online copyright infringement may be issued up to six alerts in the form of pop-up messages and e-mails.
The system of alerts is as follows:
- The first and second alerts will notify ISP subscribers that their Internet account has allegedly been used for copyright infringement and provide an explanation of how to avoid future offenses, as well as direct users to lawful media content site.
- If the user’s behavior persists, a third and fourth alert will be sent. These alerts will ask “the subscriber to acknowledge receipt” of the messages by clicking a notice.
- After a fifth alert, ISPs will be allowed to take “Mitigation Measures” to prevent future infringement.
- If the ISP did not institute a Mitigation Measure following the fifth alert, it must enact a Mitigation Measure after the sixth alert.
These Mitigation Measures may include: "temporary reductions of Internet speeds, redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts the ISP to discuss the matter or reviews and responds to some educational information about copyright, or other measures (as specified in published policies) that the ISP may deem necessary to help resolve the matter”.
Reception and controversy
The CCI has been criticized for a perceived lack of subscriber input, perverse incentives between media corporations and ISPs, harsh Mitigation Measures, and reversal of burden of proofBurden of proof
The burden of proof is the obligation to shift the accepted conclusion away from an oppositional opinion to one's own position.The burden of proof is often associated with the Latin maxim semper necessitas probandi incumbit ei qui agit, the best translation of which seems to be: "the necessity of...
standards. The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
(EFF) has been particularly thorough in its criticisms.
The EFF cites a number of problems with the agreement. Firstly, the EFF criticizes the lack of subscriber representation in the CCI, noting that the establishment of the CCI involved only large media corporations and ISPs, but left out representatives of the subscribers who purchase these companies' products. Further, the CCI only allows for a three person advisory board from consumer interest groups, while the executive board is composed of six representatives from the media companies and ISPs, an arrangement which the EFF believes to be inadequate for consumer representation.
The EFF also argues that the Mitigation Measures to be undertaken by ISPs in response to alleged copyright infringement are overly harsh, as they may be used to deny consumers access to the Internet, which EFF maintains is as fundamental a right in the digital era as is access to other utilities such as electricity. The EFF also notes that the Mitigation Measures may be imposed without any due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
, placing the burden of proof on consumers to show that allegations of copyright infringement are unfounded. The organization recommends that, in the absences of copyright infringement detection systems which have been demonstrated to be entirely accurate, the burden of proof must be on the content providers to show copyright infringement prior to harsh Mitigation Measures such as shutting off a consumer's Internet access.
Additionally, the EFF claims that the CCI's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) creates a system which does not allow consumers to mount a useful defense against copyright infringement. The MOU only allows consumers 10 days to respond to allegations of copyright infringement, which the EFF believes to be far too short to mount a credible defense. Moreover, the MOU only allows consumers to use six defenses to copyright infringement, ignoring other means of defense such as the "fair use" defense enabled by . The EFF believes that subscribers must be allowed a longer period of time to mount a defense based on the full spectrum of copyright infringement defense strategies prior to Mitigation Measures being imposed.
Finally, the EFF argues that the procedure for objecting to an alert is unfairly burdensome to the consumer and biased towards the media companies. For a $35 fee, a consumer may challenge an alert issued by the new system. The challenge goes to a supposedly independent lawyer versed in copyright law; if the review concludes that the consumer is innocent of copyright infringement, the $35 is refundable. The EFF notes, however, that there is no penalty imposed upon media companies for false copyright infringement assertions, giving companies no disincentive to overclaim copyright infringement. Moreover, the EFF is concerned that, given the low cost of case review, few independent lawyers will be involved in reviewing consumer objections to copyright infringement allegations and that the reviewers will be financially connected to the media companies claiming infringement. In order to avoid such a system of perverse incentives, the EFF argues that all reviewer resumes be made public and that media companies be held liable if they make false allegations of copyright infringement.
Further reading
Richwine, Lisa, “Internet providers to act against online pirates”, Reuters, July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.Challis, Ben, “US content industry and ISPs to inform and alert”, The 1709 Blog, July 8, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
Suarez, Paul, ”Copyright Cops Team with ISPs to Crack Down on Music, Movie Pirates”, PCWorld.com, July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
Kravets, David, "ISPs to Disrupt Internet Access of Copyright Scofflaws", Wired, July 7, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.