Italy

[IT] Agreement between the Italian Government and ISPs

IRIS 2005-4:1/21

Marina Benassi

Attorney at law

On 2 March 2005 the Italian Government signed a document of understanding containing specific guidelines aimed at enhancing the control of digital contents by redefining the tasks and obligations of operators and providers. The agreement, called “ Patto di Sanremo ”, from the city hosting the meeting, was signed by different ministries (among others the Ministries of Industry, Justice, Foreign Affairs and Education) on one side, and access providers, platform operators, producers and right-owners on the other. The “ Patto ” is founded on the “Digital Rights Management-Information Report”, a report which was recently produced by the ad hoc interdepartmental commission on digital content: the “ Commissione Interministeriale sui contenuti digitali nell'era di Internet”. By signing the agreement the Italian Government hopes to take a step in the right direction in order to create a “safer” digital environment, capable of encouraging right-owners to use the net without facing the dangers of an unregulated digital “Far West”. This document is intended as a joint effort in order to create a net-proof set of rules regulating the on-line world. Its main goal is to lead the different categories of Internet providers and operators towards self-regulation by the adoption of codes of conduct. Moreover, ISPs (Internet service providers) are asked to give impulse to a campaign aimed at discouraging non-authorized diffusion of digital contents by users on the Internet as well as to implement contractual measures providing for cancellation of the contractual relationship with the user in case of breach of copyrights rules.