UK agreement with ISPs is a big step towards tackling online piracy

London, 24th July 2008

The international recording industry today welcomed a UK government-backed agreement between the music industry and ISPs that will significantly help in the fight against online piracy.

The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by UK record labels’ association BPI, the Motion Picture Association and six major ISPs, is the latest in a series of international initiatives to engage ISPs in tackling copyright infringement on their networks.

John Kennedy, IFPI Chairman and CEO said: “The UK agreement is a big step towards reaching a solution to online piracy, and it shows that the process of engaging ISPs that was set in motion in France last year is gathering real momentum internationally. The British Government has demonstrated that it wants ISPs to join in an effective partnership with creative industries. It is important that it now drives the process forward to a solution with urgency, and that it achieves concrete, measurable results. This is very good news for a music sector which is developing new business models but which can only succeed if the widely-acknowledged problem of online piracy is resolved.”