MPAA Launches New Phase Of Aggressive Education Campaign Against Movie Piracy; Campaign Expands Current Efforts To Deter Consumers From Illegally Downloading Films

16-Jun-04

The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) announced a new phase in its ongoing public education campaign to deter illegal movie downloading. The new phase will feature ads in daily newspapers and consumer magazines across the country, as well as in more than 100 college newspapers. It will also include reaching out to parents, students and local groups to explain why movie piracy is illegal, how it impacts jobs and the economy and the consequences of engaging in illegal trafficking. Additionally, in the coming months, anti-piracy messages will appear in motion picture theaters across the country.Jack Valenti, President and Chief Executive Officer of the MPAA, commented, ""We hope this ramped-up information/educational campaign will cause those who are taking films without permission to stop their illegal activity. But we will keep all of our options open, including legal action. If we don't react promptly to an ascending curve of illegal uploading and downloading soon to be reinforced with dazzling speeds rising from file-trafficking networks, we will live with an intense regret. We have to do more to convince that minority of people who are engaged in this unlawful and infringing activity of the wrongness of their conduct. We have to stem the tide of film theft online before it is too late, before it puts to peril the creative energy of the industry and the jobs of the nearly one million Americans who work within the movie industry.""As part of its efforts, the MPAA is working with over 120 colleges and universities across the country to create and self-enforce codes of conduct for student computer use on campus as students complain of clogged networks due to the use of peer-to-peer networks. It has also developed a successful cooperation with Junior Achievement where more than one million young students in grades five through nine learn about copyright and the protection of creative property. Additionally, the industry has been working with a broad range of IT and CE companies to develop new technological solutions to illegal movie downloading. The industry also continues to expand legitimate alternatives to piracy that would permit consumers to rent and buy movies on the Internet, with services such as Movielink, CinemaNow, and others.""Most parents don't know when their children are illegally downloading movies and of the dangers that can come with peer-to-peer file-trading, including computer viruses, exposure to pornography, spyware and theft of personal information,"" Valenti said. ""We are reaching out to connect with these parents with information they need to communicate with their children about the risks and consequences involved in illegally downloading copyrighted movies."" The MPAA is in the process of significantly increasing its monitoring of illegal film-swapping levels online. The organization is also following closely and assessing the effectiveness of initiatives taken by the Recording Industry Association of America against music piracy. The MPAA has pledged to use all available options to preserve intellectual property in the face of an onslaught of digital theft.The campaign builds on the MPAA's extensive existing efforts to raise public awareness about illegal file swapping. The industry has taken a multi-faceted approach to the problem, using technology as well as legal and legislative channels to build public awareness and create legal alternative channels in an effort to protect copyrighted works. To connect with consumers, the MPAA is already running two sets of trailers on every movie screen across the country as part of the ""Movies, They're Worth It"" campaign. It has also broadcast Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on both broadcast and cable networks.The MPAA estimates losses due to analog and hard goods piracy at $3.5 billion annually, not including illegal downloading. According to outside research, between 400,000 and 600,000 films are being illegally downloaded each day. If piracy is left unchecked, illegal file trafficking could grow in the near term, including:Spellbindingly fast download speeds will be available in the marketplace within a few years, which will be a boon to legitimatedispatching of movies to consumers. But it has a potential downside unless our anti-piracy efforts bear good results; 39-percent of adult Internet users -- or 24-percent of all adult Americans -- have high-speed access at home, an increase of 60-percent since March 2003. This growth trend is expected to continue as newer technology becomes available; For the first time, more than half (52-percent) of a key demographic group -- college educated people age 35 and younger -- has broadband connections at home making it easier to trade copyrighted movie and music files; This entire MPAA effort is geared to informing people about the dangers and damages that are the result of illegal trafficking in copyrighted works. The MPAA is committed to protecting the rights of copyright owners.Consumers, parents, educators and others can learn more about this campaign by visiting www.respectcopyrights.org.

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