Clause 5 : Obligation to provide infringement lists to copyright owners. There was an amendment before Clause 5, dealing with ISPs blocking websites (an attempt to tackle infringement via websites rather than P2P, which is clearly where the Bill has focussed most of its attention). It wasn't agreed to, of course, but I'm sure we'll hear more of it in the future.

The first discussions centred on a 'threshold' again, and wondering whether a fixed number should be put in the Bill. For example, as suggested by the Lib Dems, when someone has 50 copyright infringement reports (CIRs) against their name, then they get their asses kicked. The only conclusion drawn from this was that it's going to be a little more complicated than just downloading 50 things. We'll get back to this another time.

Wow, an amendment was agreed to! Amendment 84 was simply removing the words "(if any)" when describing a threshold. Clearly the debates that have ensued have suggested that the Bill needs to make it clear that there is a threshold of some sort, whether it be a simple number or something more complicated. The government agreed to the amendment, and with that, the Clause.

Clause 5 passed - Amendment 84 agreed

Clause 6 : Approval of code about the initial obligations. Straight away we have another amendment agreed to. Amendment 85A was put forth by the government, so no surprise that it was agreed to (any amendments from the government will likely be passed, as they're promoting the Bill). It simply changes Ofcom's agreement to a 'code' from being a choice to not being one. It's nothing worth worrying about.

There was a lot of debate on the subject of libraries and universities being considered as different to normal subscribers at home, since they can't be expected to police their own networks. Lord Young of Norwood Green's viewpoint was that you can't just give carte blanche to these kinds of places, but I think the intention of the amendments discussed were more to do with treating educational establishments differently, not simply ignoring any file-sharing that goes on there.

Amendments 95A and 95B were simple drafting amendments put forward by the government, so naturally they were accepted without question. 96A was a substantial re-wording of what was already in the Bill, but didn't make any significant changes (and was also tabled by the government). Up to this point, the government has stuck to its guns and turned down virtually all amendments, with the only opposition coming in Clause 1.

Clause 6 passed - Amendment 85A, 95A, 95B, 96A agreed