Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The lower chamber of the French parliament will vote today on clauses in President Nicolas Sarkozy’s law against Internet piracy that were modified after they were rejected by the country’s highest legislative court.

After the Constitutional Council said in its June decision that the law breached the 1789 Human Rights Declaration on the freedom of expression, lawmakers changed several articles.

The legislation, one of the world’s most draconian anti- piracy laws, was first passed in May before being challenged by opposition lawmakers and submitted for review to the high legislative court. Music and film industry representatives had welcomed the passage of the law, hailing the effort to tackle online copyright infringement -- which they claim is the biggest drain on revenue.

Under the original draft law, any user who downloaded content without paying for it, would after three warnings -- an e-mail from a state agency, a letter and a third alert -- lose Internet access for up to a year. This, the legislative court said in June, breached principles of presumed innocence and freedom of expression.

With the modifications, Sarkozy’s planned Surveillance Authority for the Protection of Copyright on the Internet won’t be able to automatically cut off offenders’ connections and would have to refer the case to a judge to obtain the disconnection.

Also under the revised version, authorities will now have to prove the unlawfulness of the Internet user’s behavior.

The National Assembly will vote later today. After their decision, the bill will be debated tomorrow by a commission composed of senators and lawmakers for a final version that may be voted on Sept. 22.

To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at Hfouquet1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 15, 2009 08:34 EDT