Escalation of online copyright infringements resulted in a worldwide shift in laws aimed at fighting illegal file sharing on the Internet. A new model of cooperation between copyright holders and Internet Service Providers was created. This cooperation is called the graduated response. In its most restrictive version this system allows suspension or even termination of the Internet service provided to the ISP’s subscriber who infringed copyrights. Copyright holders definitely need a tool that will help in protecting their interests. In this paper I analyze graduated response system in order to demonstrate its advantages and weaknesses. I conclude that legislators around the world should consider alternative solutions to the issue of online piracy such as the notice-and-slowdown and the notice-and-notice approach. I prove that intellectual property might and should be protected online in an effective manner which respects subscribers’ rights and freedoms, in particular the right to access to the Internet.