J anuary 24, 2013 - 05:26 P M P S T Atlanta, Georgia

DM C A vs . IS P S ubs c riber B lues C ontinue

How would you res pond if your Internet s ervice provider was able to ceas e your bus ines s 's operation without notice or apparent caus e? DMC A vs IS P S ubs criber

B lues C ontinue. . .

DMCA vs. ISP Subscriber Blues Continue

Hary l Dabney of L2Networks Corp. | Jan. 24, 2013

How w ould y ou respond if y our internet serv ice prov ider w as able to cease y ourbusiness’s operation, w ithout notice or apparent cause?

How would y ou respond if y our Internet serv ice prov ider was able to cease y our business's operation withoutnotice or apparent cause?

Over the last few y ears, piracy has been placed in the media spotlight more and more often. As a result of the anti-piracy movement spearheaded by theMPAA and RIAA, Internet serv ice prov iders (ISPs) have begun to take action in their own interest. In response to piracy , the MPAA and RIAA requestthat the ISP release information on subscribers that are v iolating the Digital Millennium Copy right Act (DMCA). The DMCA, passed in 1998 by then-President Bill Clinton, was meant to prov ide a means to protect the intellectual property of copy right holders. In effect, ISPs now scramble to comply withthe requests and are in need of greater manpower. Since more manpower results in higher business costs, however, more ISPs are increasingly open to theidea of disconnecting repeat infringers.

One of the ideas currently being explored by ISPs across the nation is known as the "graduated response." After each detected infringement, the ISP wouldsend a notice of infringement to the subscriber. After a predetermined amount of infringement notices, the subscriber would be disconnected from theInternet completely . Besides the inconvenience that this graduated response poses for indiv iduals, there are bigger implications for businesses.

Many businesses today rely on the Internet to conduct commerce. Perhaps a business's point of sale sy stem is reliant on its access to the Internet, orperhaps the entire business is built on selling products or serv ices online. Being disconnected from the Internet would have a hugely adverse impact onsomeone's livelihood, essentially putting that person out of business without notice.

In response to these objections, it is easy to claim that with the graduated response policy , a business could curb its infringement before beingdisconnected. The business could then continue doing business as usual. After all, the number of notices that a subscriber would receive before beingdisconnected is generally proposed to be six . However, there are reports from bloggers on sites such as mediacomcable.com and dslreports.com that oneISP, Mediacom, has only a three strikes policy . This is a reminder that ISPs are free to choose how many notices of infringement they send out becausethere is no legislation concerning this issue. While the consensus is currently six , there could come a day when ISPs decide that three, or may be evennone, is best. With this sy stem in place, the ISP is not even obligated to prov ide proof of infringement. This makes it more difficult for businesses toprovide Internet access for customers or even employ ees in case someone secretly uses the network to pirate a movie.

Few inventions in history have been adopted as readily as the Internet has been. It permeates all aspects of life, and businesses have found many uses forthis sy stem that connects billions of people. This leads our own Kraig Beahn, CEO of L2Networks, to ask: "In an age when ISPs can completely disconnecty ou from the Internet at will, would y our business surv ive?"

F ile d In: B us ines s , C orporations , E xecutives , F inance, S mall B us ines s , C omputer, Legis lation, C rime, C omputers , Telecommunications

T a gs: Haryl Dabney, K raig B eahn, L2networks , Dmca Theft, Dmca Dis connect, Dmca Infringers , Dmca S mall B us ines s

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