THE RECORD industry is to be given the power to pursue internet service providers who refuse to introduce a “three strikes” regime cutting off illegal file-sharers, under proposals published by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

The proposed amendment to the Copyright Act 2000 would make it possible for the High Court to issue injunctions against internet service providers (ISPs) in cases where it is shown their networks are being used for the infringement of copyright.

In a High Court case last October, Mr Justice Peter Charleton found he had no legislative powers to force cable operator UPC to implement a system to cut off subscribers persistently engaged in sharing music online.

The four major record labels had sought UPC and other ISPs to implement a so-called “three strikes” system similar to the one Eircom is enforcing following an out-of-court settlement in 2009.

The implementation of that system by Eircom is now under investigation by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner after it emerged that 300 subscribers had wrongly been sent warning letters. The error occurred when the hour went back last October and the wrong subscribers were thought to be using IP addresses when a copyright infringement occurred.

The draft ministerial order published yesterday, which would amend the Act without passing through the Oireachtas, is open for public consultation until July 1st.

A spokesman for the department said the short consultation period was because there was an “urgency” to address the issue but if the deadline caused difficulties for industry to respond, it was “open to extending it by a short period”.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton, last month announced a separate review of the Copyright Act to “identify any areas of the legislation that might be considered to create barriers to innovation, in the digital environment”.

The spokesman said the proposed amendment addressed a “discrete issue that arises as a result of the UPC case” and was not related to the wider review.

It is widely expected that if enacted in its present format, the amendment would be used by the music industry to seek injunctions against ISPs.

Dick Doyle, chief executive of the representative body for record labels Irma, welcomed the publication of the amendment. “We have always been looking for the right to take injunctions against ISPs if they are not dealing with illegality on their networks,” he said.

Both the European Commission and UN have declared internet access is a human right, according to Ronan Lupton, chairman of Alto, the telecoms industry group.

“Any injunction granted would have to be proportionate to any infringement that has been alleged to have taken place,” Mr Lupton said. A UPC spokeswoman said it would need time to review the amendment before it could make any comment on it.

Record labels claim they are losing millions of euros annually because ISPs will not act on illegal file-sharing.