Graduated response (also known as three strikes) is a protocol or law, adopted in several countries, aimed at reducing unlawful file sharing.
Repeat-infringers risk intermediate technical measures such as bandwidth reduction, protocol blocking and, in a worst-case scenario, temporary access suspension.
[2] In a number of European countries early attempts to implement a graduated response have led to court cases to establish under which circumstances an ISP may provide subscriber data to the content industry.
In Italy courts established that criminally liability does not extend to file sharing copyrighted material, as long as it is not done for commercial gain.
"[7] An academic study by researchers at Wellesley College and Carnegie Mellon University found that public awareness of the initiative corresponds with an increase in French iTunes sales, far higher than in any other European country over the same period.
[9]However, writing in Le Monde, Damien Leloup and Jeremiah Baruch attribute the decline in digital piracy and sales increase to the introduction of a new iPhone.
"[11] New Zealand was one of the first countries to enact a three strikes policy, but its implementation was delayed for a month pending development of a code of practice.
In January 2009 the British government announced its plans to legislate a graduated response system through the Digital Economy Act 2010.
Under the proposed scheme the UK government would legislate a "Code on unlawful file-sharing" that's ISPs would have to follow and would establish "appeals and standards of evidence".
[17] Attempts in Ireland to implement three strikes for a number of ISPs have resulted in court proceedings, the latest of which concerned data protection issues.