from www.train2game.com – Last month marked the second anniversary since the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group representing the four largest music labels, stopped filing copyright lawsuits against people suspected of illegal file sharing.

At the time, the RIAA said it would seek help in copyright enforcement efforts from Internet service providers, the Web’s gatekeepers, which are uniquely positioned to act as copyright cops. Under a proposed RIAA plan, the ISPs would first issue warning letters and gradually increase pressure on customers who illegally shared songs, and even suspend or permanently terminate service for repeat offenders. RIAA execs said then that some ISPs were weeks away from announcing the adoption of what they called a “graduated response” program.

Two years later, we’re still waiting. Not only have the largest ISPs declined to cut off accused file-sharing customers but one ISP, Time Warner Cable, did more than anyone to derail a litigation effort launched this year against file sharers by independent and adult-film studios. An RIAA representative declined to comment for this story.

Instead of befriending the entertainment industry on copyright issues, the major bandwidth providers appear to be a foe. The top ISPs have also conspicuously failed to support an antipiracy bill introduced in the U.S. Senate-and backed by the major entertainment sectors-late last year.

If passed, the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act would authorize the government to shut down U.S. Web sites suspected of piracy as well as order ISPs to block access to similar sites overseas. Two ISP execs, who spoke to CNET on condition of anonymity, were dismissive of the legislation and are skeptical it will pass.