From its outset, France’s controversial “three strikes” copyright enforcement policy has tried a dual approach: to not only punish online pirates but to also teach them about copyright law.
Now, the French government is going on the educational offensive—by planning to participate in a children’s expo attended by an estimated 150,000 kids.
HADOPI, a French acronym that’s commonly known as the “three strikes” law, warns users suspected of downloaded pirated material twice, then cuts off their service. It’s had mixed results: While it’s been extremely effective in curtailing illegal downloading, it’s had little success in restoring profits to the French record and film industries.
American Internet service providers have long planned to adopt a similar policy to use on their own customers, though that system has been repeatedly delayed. Both systems attempt to educate users on copyright law and why they shouldn’t pirate content.
According to information obtained by the French news website Numerama, the governing agency devoted to enforcing the law, also called HADOPI, is planning to teach children about the evils of copyright infringement in October at this year’s Kidexpo, an annual event for children between the ages of 4 and 14.
It’s unclear exactly what HADOPI representatives will to do at the expo. They presumably will find ways to make complying with copyright seem fun. Last year, HADOPI created a cartoon to teach children that online piracy is illegal.
In 2006, a Canadian copyright-enforcement agency created a cartoon character called Captain Copyright, a superhero who encourages people to obey copyright law.
The character was widely criticized for factual inaccuracies and relentlessly mocked, forcing Captain Copyright into an early retirement.
If HADOPI has discovered a way to make obeying copyright fun for the whole family, that formula has yet to be leaked and torrented.
Photo by happy lydia
