Paper Finds Little Success In ‘Three-Strikes’ IP Enforcement Programmes

A new paper by an Australian academic assesses the “graduated response” programmes set up in recent years to enforce copyrights online through escalating penalties for repeat offences, finding little benefit from the programmes.

The programmes, also sometimes referred to as “three-strikes”, have been implemented in a range of countries and raised fears that users could lose all internet access for downloading unauthorised music or movies.

“Evaluating Graduated Response,” authored by Rebecca Giblin of the Monash University Faculty of Law, is available here.

The abstract of the paper reads: “It has been more than three years since the first countries began implementing ‘graduated responses’, requiring ISPs [internet service providers] to take a range of measures to police their users’ copyright infringements. Graduated responses now exist in a range of forms in seven jurisdictions. Right-holders describe them as ‘successful’ and ‘effective’ and are agitating for their further international roll-out. But what is the evidence in support of these claims?”

The paper looks at schemes in France, New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States and evaluates “the extent to which they are actually achieving the copyright law’s aims,” it says.

While claiming to be “agnostic”, the analysis “demonstrates that, judged against these measures, there is little to no evidence that that graduated responses are either ‘successful’ or ‘effective’. The analysis casts into doubt the case for their future international roll-out and suggests that existing schemes should be reconsidered.”