P2P File Sharing

HADOPI Study in France Documents Decrease in P2P Piracy

Copyright violations due to P2P file sharing in France have decreased by as much as 43% according to a report by the French governmental copyright protection body, HADOPI. The report has shown that the law has successfully curbed piracy and also improved digital music sales.
The French system of three-strike copyright protection law has been more than helpful in arresting the rampant illegal file sharing on P2P networks. From more than 755,000 subscribers who received at least one HADOPI notice, 95% refrained from downloading content from P2P networks after the first notice whereas 92% of them refrained after getting the second notice. Almost 98% of the subscribers refrained from downloading the illegal content after the third notice and 71% of these contacted HADOPI to commit to end all illegal downloading of content. Overall, French copyrighted content on global P2P networks reduced from 6.2% in January 2011 to 4.5% in December 2011.
The success of the system is also reflected in the fact that there has been no major transfer to streaming technology or direct downloading. Major P2P websites like MegaVideo, Hotfile, Rapidshare etc; show a stability during the time period spanning December 2010 to December 2011. On the other front, digital sales increased by 25% in 2011, according to the figures by French labels trade body SNEP. While HADOPI hasn't been able to arrest the drop in the recorded music market due to the drop in physical sales, it did compensate in terms of the digital sales. HADOPI has gotten good reviews from the independent record labels organizations UPFI and SPPF also, who stated that the system had to be given time to prove its efficiency.