Survey on impact of HADOPI Law 'nonsense' says IFPI

30th March 2010

IFPI, the organisation that represents the recording industry worldwide, today said a survey published by Rennes University into the effectiveness of France's new "HADOPI" anti-piracy law was premature. John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of IFPI, said: "It is nonsense to suggest that a study conducted before the HADOPI authority has sent a letter to a single infringing user is somehow a definitive judgment on the success or otherwise of France's digital piracy laws."

The survey was only based on a sample of 2,000 people from Brittany, not a nationally representative cross-section of online users, and its conclusions are only based on self-reported behaviour of illegal activities. It is not a meaningful study of current or future online behaviour in France.

John Kennedy adds: "France has pioneered a modern approach to tackling mass online copyright infringement. The government recognised that France's creative industries were ultimately under threat if the illegal distribution of content made it too difficult for investors to recoup the financial backing they provide to the create books, films, games, music and television programmes. We believe the approach will prove successful, but the impact of the law will only be known some time after it goes into effect. In the meantime, surveys like this are pure speculation."