New Zealand music labels have begun pitching the first "strikes" in their country's "three strikes" regime targeting Internet file-swappers. The New Zealand Herald reports that four major ISPs there have received infringement notices that have been passed along to subscribers after the new rule went into effect on September 1.
The scheme involves three warnings of infringement, warnings which are generated by copyright holders and which carry no legal penalty. After three of the warnings, however, copyright holders can haul Internet subscribers before a Copyright Tribunal and seek fines.
One peculiarity of New Zealand's system: it applies to the Internet account holder rather than the person actually accused of sharing the content online. It's certainly one way of solving the perennial doubt over who, exactly, was sitting behind an IP address. As the Herald notes, people are likely to be surprised:
Given that Rihanna and Lady Gaga have a strong teenage fan base, parents responsible for home internet accounts may be in for a shock. This is because the account owner is the one liable under the new law for any offending over an internet connection, regardless of whether they downloaded the content or not.