Open Letter Supports Strong Copyright System

On March 14, 2017, the Copyright Alliance and CreativeFuture sent an open letter to elected officials expressing the intrinsic need for a strong copyright system that promotes and rewards creativity. The letter has been signed by over 70,000 creators, organizations, and individuals who support a strong copyright system that protects the rights of creators and entrepreneurs.

The letter asserts that freedom of speech and freedom of expression are fundamental to strong intellectual property rights, stating that efforts to diminish the rights of creators in the name of “free speech” are cynical and dishonest. While the letter clearly recognizes that the Internet has launched many creative platforms and has eased the distribution of copyrighted works, it has also been used to harm creativity with acts of online piracy. The letter welcomes enforcement of existing copyright laws and voluntary industry initiatives to help combat online piracy, but unfortunately, some organizations have tried to block these efforts in order to serve their own agendas.

Lastly, the letter states: “The creative community stands united in support of a copyright system that will continue to make the United States the global leader in the creative arts and the global paradigm for free expression.” With core copyright industries adding more than $1.2 trillion in economic activity to the U.S. GDP in 2016, it is clear that a strong copyright system encourages investment and innovation in the economy, ultimately benefiting consumers who value creative content.

Copyright protection is a bipartisan issue. Elected officials from both parties should work to preserve the creative economy and diminish online activities that harm creativity.

Pirates May Have Killed "Hannibal"

On March 14, 2016, Martha De Laurentiis, the Executive Producer of the former NBC show “Hannibal,” published an article in The Hill asking the question, “Did pirates kill ‘Hannibal’?” “Hannibal” was the fifth-most illegally downloaded show in 2013 and nearly one-third of the show’s audience came from pirated websites — despite the fact that a legitimate download for each episode was available the following day. NBC cancelled the show in 2015 after three seasons.

Ms. De Laurentiis debunks the unfortunate but common perception that producers are not harmed by for-profit theft of films and television programs. More importantly, she says that the thousands of crew members that work on television and film sets are often the forgotten victims of piracy. According to Ms. De Laurentiis, pirates of “Hannibal” might not be concerned with the wallets of top-billed actors and producers, but they should be able to relate to the hard-working crew members who were harmed when NBC decided not to renew “Hannibal” for a fourth season.

Ms. De Laurentiis concedes that it is hard to know if pirates killed “Hannibal.” But she is sure that the more than 2 million viewers who watched the show illegally at least partly contributed to the show’s cancellation.

Isn’t it ironic that “Hannibal,” a show about a cannibalistic serial killing psychiatrist, may have been killed by its own fans who downloaded the show illegally?

As I stated in an August 2015 blog, Ms. De Laurentiis has urged that profit should be removed from piracy. As a CreativeFuture Leadership Committee member, she often speaks out about how piracy undermines the vitality of the entire creative industry. CreativeFuture, a coalition of more than 400 companies and organizations in the creative industries, notifies and warns major companies about avoiding ad placement on websites which facilitate illegal content. Ms. De Laurentiis stressed back in August 2015 that “[w]ithout their ad dollars, we can take the profit out of piracy.”

Diminishing ad-supported piracy is important to help ensure that content providers, artists, innovators, and marketers can earn a return on their creative works – thereby incentivizing more innovation, investment, and economic growth. 

GroupM Will Require Partners to Become TAG-Certified

Today, WPP’s GroupM, the leading global media investment management company, announced that it will require all of its media partners to receive anti-piracy certification from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) by Q1 2016. TAG is a voluntary initiative which helps prevent ad placement on websites which facilitate the distribution of pirated content and/or the illegal dissemination of counterfeit goods. (Read more about TAG in this blog.)

Certification entails that TAG has approved an advertising agency’s ability to identify at risk websites, prevent advertisements on such websites, disrupt fraudulent or deceptive transactions, and eliminate payments to such websites that facilitate access to illegal content and/or counterfeit goods. John Montgomery, Chairman of GroupM Connect in North America and Co-Chair of TAG Anti-piracy Working Group made the following statement in a press release:

We’re in the business of giving the world’s most valuable brands marketing advantage with smart media strategies. This inherently means we’re vigilant for clients’ brand safety. Our work with TAG in the development and now full adoption of anti-piracy guidelines is a major leap forward. With IAB, 4As, and ANA, we’ve worked years to make the digital ecoSystem more trustworthy. Fighting pirates of copyrighted content required every ounce of our tenacity and ingenuity, but with the advent of TAG’s Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy, we have powerful new tools and safeguards.

TAG and other voluntary initiatives, such as WheretoWatch.com, Rightscorp, and CreativeFuture, have emerged to aid consumers in finding legal content and raising awareness about websites, enterprises, and advertisers that violate intellectual property rights.

Diminishing ad-supported piracy is important to help ensure that content providers, artists, innovators, and marketers can earn a return on their creative works - incentivizing more innovation, investment, and economic growth. 

FSF scholars applaud the work of TAG and support this decision by GroupM!

Executive Producer of "Hannibal" Wants Profit Out of Piracy

On August 12th, Martha De Laurentiis, Executive Producer of the television show “Hannibal,” wrote an op-ed in Ad Age entitled “Marketers: Stop Advertising on Pirate Sites.” In it, she speaks out against ad-supported piracy and tells a story about how online piracy directly affects her job:

My own show, "Hannibal," was the fifth most-stolen TV show during its first season on the air, despite being available for legal digital streaming the very next day. While I appreciate the enthusiasm of our fans, as executive producer I am responsible for all production costs for the show. Piracy directly affects my bottom line, including the wages for hundreds of cast and crewmembers.

Ms. De Laurentiis is a proud member of the Leadership Committee of CreativeFuture, a coalition of more than 400 companies and organizations in the creative industries. CreativeFuture recently launched a letter-writing campaign directed at major companies whose ads routinely appear on websites which facilitate access to illegal content. In her op-ed, Ms. De Laurentiis said “most advertisers are unaware that their ads appear on pirate sites,” so simply warning them is a good first step. And because many of these global brands have reputations to protect, CreativeFuture’s efforts will help remove advertising revenue from pirate websites. Ms. De Laurentiis declared that “[w]ithout their ad dollars, we can take the profit out of piracy.”

In a May 2015 blog entitled “Ad-Supported Piracy Remains a Serious Problem,” Free State Foundation President Randolph May cited a Digital Citizens Alliance report which found that a sample of 589 pirate websites generated an estimated $209 million in aggregate annual revenue from advertising in 2014. But while the problem is still large, Mr. May is optimistic because there was an $18 million decrease in illegal aggregate ad revenue from 2013 to 2014. This decrease may be attributable to several voluntary initiatives which help to fight online piracy and intellectual property infringements. Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy, WheretoWatch.com, Rightscorp, and now CreativeFuture have emerged to aid consumers in finding legal content and in raising awareness about websites, enterprises, and advertisers that violate intellectual property rights.

Diminishing ad-supported piracy is important to help ensure that content providers, artists, innovators, and marketers can earn a return on their creative works - incentivizing more innovation, investment, and economic growth.