No three strikes for Ireland (yet): EU Copyright Law and individual liability in recent internet filesharing litigation

Abstract

This article is a summary of recent Irish cases involving peer-to-peer file-sharing. These cases are another step in the ongoing development of this fast-changing area of the law, and raise some interesting questions about issues of privacy, Internet service provider responsibility for copyright infringement by users and the legality of “three strikes and you’re out” Internet disconnection procedures in Europe. More importantly, they indicate that finding a solution to the conflict between protecting, on the one hand, the interests of copyright holders on the Internet and, on the other hand, the scope of service providers to innovate and develop their services, will remain a difficult challenge for quite some time to come.