By the end of this year, the US Center for Copyright Information (CCI), a collaboration between content creators in the movie and music industries and leading ISPs, will launch its so-called Copyright Alert System. According to CCI, its six-strikes plan is "a progressive system aimed at educating Internet subscribers about digital copyright and the potential consequences of inadvertent or purposeful copyright violations through peer-to-peer networks."

Under the Copyright Alert System, right holders can send a notification to a participating ISP when they believe their content is being misused online by a specific IP address. The ISP will identify the subscriber to whom the specified IP address was allocated at the applicable date and time and sends one or more alerts.  Initially, the alerts will be non-punitative and educational. If users repeatedly fail to respond to alerts, the ISP may take one of several 'mitigation measures', including the reduction of Internet speeds, redirection to another landing page or even terminating the Internet connection.

As mentioned above, the Copyright Alert System is a six-strikes plan. If a subscriber receives an alert but the alleged activities continue, he or she will receive the next alert. There are six alerts:

• First Alert: The subscriber is notified that his or her account may have been misused or involved in copyright infringement. The alert also contains information about avoiding copyright infringement and provides information about legal sources of content on the Internet.
• Second Alert: Similar to the first alert, with the educational messages underscored. 
• Third Alert: Almost similar to the first and second alert. However, the subscriber will also be notified through a pop-up notice, landing page or other obvious click-through mechanism to ensure that he or she is aware of the notice.
• Fourth Alert: Similar to the third alert. It also requires the subscriber to acknowledge receipt.
• Fifth Alert: The ISP may take one of the 'mitigation measures' to stop future copyright infringement. The ISP might also decide to renounce the mitigation measures at this point until it receives a further notice of copyright infringement associated with the same subscriber's account.
• Sixth Alert: The ISP will implement a mitigation measure.

The Copyright Alert System differs in a few aspects from the 'three strikes' system, like the French HADOPI law or the Three Strike Law in New Zealand. The Copyright Alert System creates no new laws or formal legal procedures. It neither requires that the ISP finally suspends or terminates subscribers' accounts, as is the case with the three-strikes system. All possible actions taken by right holders and ISPs are already authorized under existing law. According to the CCI, the goal of its system is to enhance awareness, to discourage copyright infringement through education and constructive communications and to direct subscribers to legal sources of content.

Read more about this topic on FutureOfCopyright.com:

• • US will introduce Copyright Alert System before end of this year
  • New French Minister of Culture highly critical of HADOPI and France’s anti-piracy policy
  • New Zealand: First cases under new 'three strikes law'

Sources: Wired, Center for Copyright Information