Keep calm and download! Viewing of torrent websites 'will not land you in jail'

NEW DELHI: Indians will not be penalised for merely accessing a blocked torrent website or URL, as suggested by some news reports, several people ET spoke to said.

According to these reports, several users accessing a blocked a URL or web address with torrents pulled up the message from Tata Communications Limited (TCL): "This URL has been blocked under the instructions of the Competent Government Authority or in compliance with the orders of a Court of competent jurisdiction. Viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating an illicit copy of the contents under this URL is punishable as an offence under the laws of India, including but not limited to under Sections 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957 which prescribe imprisonment for 3 years and also fine of upto Rs. 3,00,000/-"

"Any person aggrieved by any such blocking of this URL may contact at urlblock@tatacommunications.com who will, within 48 hours, provide you the details of relevant proceedings under which you can approach the relevant High Court or Authority for redressal of your grievance," it added.

The news kicked up an online storm because of the suggestion that merely "viewing" a blocked URL or torrent website could lead to a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh or a jail terms.

Experts however, disagreed. "Certain news reports indicate that people may be prosecuted for mere access to websites due to the notice by Tata Telecommunications not being phrased properly. The sections which are referred in the notice do not criminalise mere access in isolation," said
advocate Apar Gupta.

At the heart of the matter is a John Doe order, which "refers to an unidentified entity, and orders allow content owners to shut down entire websites in order to prevent them from allowing piracy, without needing to go to court, for each time," as explained by Medianama.

"The notice is not properly worded," added Gupta.

In this case, TCL had gone to court in a copyright infringement case, according to SpicyIP, a blog on intellectual property (IP) and innovation law and policy. The said error message text was allowed by the judge only for TCL, and none of the other internet service providers who were part of the case.

"Also, the order is to operate only till September 19, 2016, when it will be revisited by the court," notes SpicyIP in the blog.