Pubs could be held liable for illegal downloads

Pubs have been warned they could be held liable for material illegally downloaded by customers using their Wi-Fi.

The warning comes following the passing of the Digital Economy Act into law before the break-up of Parliament earlier this month.

The aim of the law is to clampdown on piracy in the UK, including people who download or share copyrighted material illegally without paying.

"Under these new rules, pubs who offer their customers a DIY a shared Wi-Fi connection will be held responsible, should their guests use that connection to download or share copyrighted material illegally," said Naunton Dickins of Wi-Fi provider The Cloud.

"This could cause landlords quite a headache - estimates suggest that more than six million people in the UK are involved in piracy, many of whom may not even know that they are doing anything wrong."

However, Dickins said pubs should not be put off offering Wi-Fi to customers but do need to take steps to protect themselves.

"Pubs just need to ensure that they are partnering with a provider that can put secure steps in place to prevent customers from being able to share materials in a manner which contravenes the new act.

"By discussing this with their Wi-Fi provider, landlords will be able to continue to offer all of the benefits of free Wi-Fi to their customers without opening themselves up to the potential consequences of breaking the law."