Britain to make Piracy 'Legal" in 2015

Alright.  So.  Where to begin.

It should come to no surprise to anyone here that video games, being a largely digital medium, are prone to being pirated.  Piracy is huge in the games industry, with larger companies taking huge, obtrusive steps to stop piracy, while smaller companies can sometimes be destroyed by it.  And yet, Piracy persistsoftentimes its the easiest, more convenient way to access a game.  Sometimes you dont want to pay for it.  Sometimes its the ONLY way to get your hands on a title theres a plethora of reasons why someone would pirate a game, or music, or anything digital.

And yet, while the industry is quick to call piracy the bane of gaming and the most evil thing you could possibly do outside murder your mother with the corpse of your murdered puppy, over in the UK theyre taking a more nuanced approach.  After talks between ISP providers, politicians, and representatives in the music and movie Industry, the UK is revealing its latest method of fighting piracy: the "Voluntary Copyright Alert Programme" (VCAP). 

Now, heres how VCAP works: if people notice youre uploading/downloading a lot of content at any given time, youll be given a warning.  Up to four.  And after the fourth warning...

nothing happens.  No fines, no jail time, nothing.  In effect, the UK is going to legalize piracy.

So whats the point of VCAP?  According to Geoff Taylor, chief executive of music trade body the BPI, VACP hopes to by...
 

"persuading the persuadable, such as parents who do not know what is going on with their net connection. VCAP is not about denying access to the internet. It's about changing attitudes and raising awareness so people can make the right choice."

So instead of actively fighting pirates, the hope is to attempt damage control, since piracy isnt going anywhere.

Huh...

That's certainly an interesting approach, but will it work?  Hard to say.  VCAP is set to begin around 2015, so well have to wait until then to see if things improve or if they get even worse.  Its worth noting that the UK will still be working to shut down file-sharing sites and piracy hubs, but for the individuals who use those services, youll be basically unmolested.

I'm not sure if its a step forward for consumer rights or a step backwards for creative rights, but lets save that speculation for when we see the effects.