Internet Piracy Bill Defeated in France

PARIS: French lawmakers today rejected tough new laws to combat Internet piracy, which were supported by President Nicolas Sarkozy as well as by the film and music industries.

The proposed legislation, called the “Création et Internet” law, was expected to be approved today, after garnering the support of the upper house. It was defeated in the lower house by a vote of 21 to 15.

The so-called "three strikes" law called for the establishment of a new agency in charge of copyright protection. That office would be authorized to use IP addresses to track down pirates. A first violation would result in an e-mail warning, A second violation within three months would result in a warning by mail. The third infraction would empower an ISP to cut off a suspected pirate’s Internet service.

Reports indicate that piracy costs the film and music industries in France at least 1 billion euros a year in lost revenues.