Pubs may inadvertently be breaking the law

Wed 28 Apr 2010

Many licensed premises that offer customers Wi-Fi access could unknowingly be breaking the law.

The Digital Economy Act passed earlier this month prior to the dissolution of parliament aims to target illegal downloading and file sharing, helping to protect copyrighted materials.

However, the act means that pubs are liable for any copyrighted material illegally downloaded by their customers.

They could then face a lawsuit for piracy should customers take advantage of the Wi-Fi connection to download and share copyrighted materials.

According to Naunton Dickins, from Wi-Fi provider The Cloud, it is possible for pubs to avoid such issues by ensuring their Wi-Fi provider has suitable procedures in place to prevent users sharing illegal files.

Restrictions and blocks can be discussed between pubs and their internet service provider (ISP).

The Digital Economy Act calls on internet service providers to disclose details of customers who repeatedly break copyright law by downloading or sharing material without paying for it and to block known piracy websites and services.

Richard Tinham, commercial partner at Winckworth Sherwood Solicitors, commented: "The Digital Economy Act and the recent decision of Twentieth Century Film Corporation and others v Newzbin Limited [2010] has made it considerably easier for copyright owners to take action against pubs and other organisations who, by providing Wi-Fi connections, enable users to infringe third party copyright.

"However, there has been growing criticism of the Act, which was rushed through parliament prior to dissolution for the general election.

"I think the limited time available to debate the Act has led to unintended consequences.

"Until such time that the government clarifies the position, pubs should consider the use of privacy controls and a secure Wi-Fi connection."