Global row building over Music Piracy and illegal filesharing

FT.com has revealed that the French government is planning to send email warnings to anyone who would be caught sharing music files illegally.

According to Jean Berbinau, general secretary of ARMT, the French regulatory authority for digital copyright, the French authorities have to intervene because of illegal file sharing has reached alarming proportions in the country of cheese and wine.

France has announced they would move forward with "three-strikes-and-you're-out" of the internet approach towards hardened Internet pirates, a proposal that was initially made last November.

The proposals by Berbinau echo the earlier calls by the IFPI to ISPs to take a greater share of responsibility in the fight against illegal file sharing in general.

This came as the music industry suffered yet another year which saw a marked decrease in revenues.

In related news, U2 Manager, Paul McGuiness has backed the French government plans and has urged others to follow suit by cutting web connections for those who indulge in illegal file sharing.

McGuiness also revealed that the honesty principle method adopted by Radiohead to release their latest album had backfired with the illegal downloads taking the lion share although the album was available for free on Radiohead's website. Tags: Digital Media, Digital Rights Management, Legal rights/wrongs, Licensing, P2P, Personal Privacy