latest landmark decision by 5th Circuit Court holds that termination accounts of piracy offenders must be issued by ISPs

In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must cut off their Internet services to users accused of digital piracy.

Such rulings could potentially set a new legal precedent in the battle against online copyright infringement and could hugely affect consumers and the internet service industry.

This motion derives from a class action brought by copyright owners who claimed that the particular ISP took no action after receipt of multiple notices of infringement. It has been mandated by DMCA for ISPs to respond when notified with repeated copyrights infringements by subscribers over whom they have control. Failure to meet these requirements would therefore constitute a loss of "safe harbor" protections accorded to the ISP, otherwise immune, so long as it takes prompt actions in case such issues arise.

This is what the 5th Circuit Court ruled upon deciding that an ISP is liable for enabling piracy when it allows repeat offenders, fails to terminate accounts. In other words, turning a blind eye to repeat infringers disqualifies an ISP from DMCA safe harbor protections, which places them at risk of facing legal consequences.

Result for ISP and User
This would put ISPs in an uncomfortable spot as they are forced to scrutinize their users more closely. ISPs must now enforce more extreme measures regarding repeated copyright infringement and now have to terminate accounts of users more frequently than ever before. While many of the ISPs were willing to warn their users or meted out more minor punishments, the court's decision may force them to crack down harder than they would want to, not to mention a future case.

For consumers, that decision raises the stakes. Users who are accused of piracy may now face permanent loss of their internet service - or at least what actually happens will depend on how an individual's ISP responds to the ruling.
ISPs have always had the discretion to terminate accounts under the DMCA, but this ruling might encourage them to get more aggressive in their actions.

Lack of Due Process
The problem of the right to due process has arisen from this decision, as copyright infringement notices appear to be more often the output of detection machines scanning for copyrighted materials, which then scan user traffic looking for pirated content. These systems make mistakes in some instances, so that users may improperly be found to have violated. It would be unfair to bar a person from access to the internet based on such accusations, without giving him proper opportunity to dispute the claim against him.

Even more, internet dependency today becomes even more critical because everyday activities in working, studying, and communicating increasingly rely on the internet, which leaves serious implications against not having access to the internet again.

Consumer advocates have argued that termination of internet access over piracy claims is unfair and disproportionate. Consumers' increasing reliance on the internet as essential in daily life calls for a further review of what would be considered proportionate in the face of these changes.

The 5th Circuit's ruling is likely to alter the manner in which ISPs approach copyright enforcement. It will inform the ISPs that it is now becoming increasingly necessary for them to handle allegations of piracy in a more proactive manner, meaning that an even stricter system of enforcement will be followed and laid out in policies.

This decision may also give rise to debate in the legislation about the balance between copyright enforcement and rights of the individual. Already some have cried out for legislative reform that provides greater safeguards for Internet users in preventing them from being unfairly punished without due process.

On one hand, the declaration of this decision is a success for copyright holders against the legal creation of digital piracy. This builds bargaining power as they push the ISPs to assume responsibility to prevent non-authorised distribution of copyrighted material.