Illegal Downloading

UCD have announced that  they have detected ALMOST 65,000 broadband users in Ireland  suspected of being involved in illegal downloading on a weekly basis.  The data was collected by new software developed by the UCD Centre for Cybercrime Investigation (CCI) and was able to register the IP address of computers suspected of piracy.

In Ireland it is an offence to download or distribute copyrighted material, and while there have been some cases in the courts involving counterfeit DVD operations, very few cases against individuals have made it to the courts. 

This, combined with the ease of accessign material has made it a widespread practice across Ireland, as the UCD research shows.  The actual number of illegal downloaders in the country is estimated to be much higher as the focus of the university study was only the top 10 most downloaded media.  The list included Avatar, music by Lady Gaga, the HBO Mad Men third series and Bioshock 2 the video game released this month by 2K game studios. 

Pressure from the major movie studios and record labels have intensified the  search for a method of cracking down on obtaining software and entertainment from the web.  The country’s main broadband provider Eircom had threatened to cut off users found to be in breach of terms and conditions on a three strike basis,  but there are now doubts that this will be implemented due to concerns over data protection laws.

The actual number of illegal downloaders in any one  country is almost impossible to gauge, but a recent report by the MPAA (Movie Picture Artists Association) claims that the movie industry lost $1.3 billion in the US, and $6.1 billion worlwide and pirates (illegal downloaders) are responsible for $5.5 billion in lost annual earnings amongworkers and the loss of 141,030 jobs in the US alone.