Music company EMI Records this week filed a lawsuit against the Irish government over its alleged failure to crack down on music piracy, according to reports.
The suit follows a pledge last month from the Irish government that it would introduce a law allowing copyright holders to obtain court orders forcing Internet service providers (ISPs) in the country to block access to pirate sites, The Irish Times reported. Despite the promise, EMI now says the government is dragging its feet on the issue.
The suit follows a failed legal attempt last year by EMI and record labels Warner, Universal and Sony to force a local ISP to block access to pirate sites.
At the time, Ireland’s High Court agreed that record companies were being harmed by Internet piracy but said laws to stop the practice were not enforceable in the country, according to a TorrentFreak report. The judge said that without a legislative mechanism for stopping ISPs from providing access to pirate sites, Ireland is not in compliance with its requirements under European Law.
The government subsequently promised to create such legislation.
In its suit filed Wednesday, EMI contents that the Irish government has failed to implement provisions of European copyright law. The record company is concerned that the forthcoming law could be delayed, and that it will not be sufficient when it is eventually issued.
Willie Kavanagh, chief executive of EMI’s Irish Division said the government has not offered up a copy of the planned legislation following requests by EMI to see it, “leading me to believe it’s unlikely to satisfy the music industry’s requirement for injunctive relief,” he told The Irish Times. The government, meanwhile, has pledged to publish details of its planned legislation later this month.
While record companies in Ireland are facing hurdles in their fight against illegal downloads, those with similar goals are finding success elsewhere. A Dutch court this week ordered two ISPs in the Netherlands block customers from accessing the Swedish file-sharing Web site The Pirate Bay, which is known as one of the largest enablers of illegal downloading in the world.