Warnings don't deter pirates

Only one-third of surfers would stop downloading copyright-protected content from the web if their ISP sent them a warning letter, a survey has found.

The survey, carried out by media law firm Wiggins and Entertainment Media Research, found that in 80 per cent of cases it would take extreme measures such as temporarily disconnecting a web connection to stop people from downloading illegally.

However, the figures are in stark contrast to a study carried out last year, again by Wiggin, which found that 70 per cent of those who admitted to downloading unauthorised content would stop if they received an email or call from their ISP.

Last year, Virgin Media and the BPI began writing to customers of the ISP suspected of illegal downloading.

Cutting off persistent offenders was part of a controversial 'three-strikes' proposal also favoured by the BPI, which represents musicians and record labels in the UK.

However, the final version of the Digital Britain report due to be presented next week, is expected to shun such as idea in favour of other "technical solutions", such as restricting the connection speed of pirates.

Wiggins' research surveyed 1,512 UK consumers aged 15-54 in May 2009.