Wednesday, the British secretary of commerce Vince Cable stated it will scrap proposals to block websites that publish copyright-infringing material. The laid down plan would be too cumbersome and unworkable, but Cable emphasizes the government wants to look into possible alternatives to curb illegal file sharing. 

The statement of Cable is somewhat remarkable, as recently the London High Court of Justice ruled the ISP British Telecom had to block internet access to file sharing site Newzbin for all its users. The London Court stated such a measure is proportionate and necessary to protect the intellectual property rights of multiple major film studios. In this particular case the movie studios right to protection of their intellectual property (art. 1 FP ECHR) offsets the right to freedom of expression (art. 10 ECHR) of British Telecom, the administrators of Newzbin, as well as those of the Newzbin’s users.

Cable also refers to this case and supports a court order blocking an illegal website, but wants no permanent/ general blocking order. This consists of a system whereby the government (so not a judge) maintains a list of sites that all ISPs in the country would be required to block. He believes that this general blockade is not the right measure. What might be the best way to fight against illegal distribution of copyright protected content? Cable thinks the cooperation between providers and right holders should be stimulated and improved to combat copyright infringement, but he is not very concrete. "One of the things I've enabled is conversations between ISPs and rights holders," he said. "I want to see if ISPs and rights holders can come to agree a process to get facts together before going to court. The key point is up to court to make a final decision".

Also, Cable mentions some other measures to update the Digital Economy Act. The government is planning to legalize the copying of CDs or DVDs onto digital music players or computers for personal use. Furthermore, the government plans to allow commercial and cultural use of so-called "orphan works".

References: Reuters, Guardian and ArsTechnica