PRS proposes levy on ISPs

“CALL TO ACTION” GETS A BOOST FROM BRITS: Jim Urie was undoubtedly delighted to read this morning on Billoard.biz that PRS, the U.K. equivalent of the RIAA, has proposed a piracy levy on ISPs based on levels of abuse. The concept of compensation is contained in a discussion paper, "Moving Digital Britain Forward Without Leaving Creative Britain Behind," co-written by PRS chief economist Will Page. "What co-author David Touve and I have been working on developing are market-based solutions to the harm caused by illegal file sharing over the Internet," said Page in a statement. "More importantly, we explore what legal options exist for recovering the value of that harm, and offer an economic framework that can be considered when structuring a resolution." U.K. ISPs obviously won’t be as pleased as Urie, but for the proposal to be enacted, new legislation would have to be passed. (7/14a)