In what seems like a never-ending parade of lawsuits, this might take the cake. The Irish branch of EMI has decided to file a new lawsuit – no shock there. The twist? They’ve decided to sue the entire country of Ireland – more specifically, its government – for not taking action to more strictly block ISPs and websites associated with illegal, pirated and copyright-infringing content.
Read more here from Gizmodo UK.
Ireland doesn’t currently have a system implemented that lets copyright holders like EMI take out court orders to force ISPs to block sites linked to piracy. In the UK and across the rest of Europe, this kind of forced blockade is happening left right and centre, and the music industry wants Ireland to follow suit.
A High Court case was levied against one of Irelands ISPs by the music industry in 2010, which found a blockade-style court order system lacking in Irish law. This prompted a “statutory instrument“ to be drawn up by the Irish government bringing it in-line with the EU. The new rule will do something akin to what the music industry is after, but Ireland hasn’t acted quick enough for EMI it seems.