David Farnor | On 14, Jun 2017

Entertainment giants from around the world are teaming up to create a new global anti-piracy group.

Amazon, Netflix and BBC Worldwide are just some of the names behind the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment to Reduce Online Piracy, which aims to protect creative content on the web.

The coalition, which consists of 30 content creators and on-demand entertainment companies, launches today, in response to the rapidly growing legal market for content, as availability, affordability and awareness all significantly improve.There are now more than 480 online services worldwide available for consumers to watch films and television programs legally on demand, fuelled by heavy investment by film and TV companies in digital distribution models.

This tremendous growth of creativity also drives the economy. In the United States alone, the creative sector adds over $1.2 trillion to the economy and supports more than 5.5 million direct jobs each year. However, as more creative content moves online, piracy still poses a threat to creators, consumers, and the economy. Films and TV shows can often be found on illegal sites within days – and in many cases hours – of release. Last year, there were an estimated 5.4 billion downloads of pirated wide release films and primetime television and VOD shows using peer-to-peer protocols worldwide. There were also an estimated 21.4 billion total visits to streaming piracy sites worldwide across both desktops and mobile devices in 2016.

“Fueled in large part by the explosion of new digital platforms, the creative sector supports more than 5.5 million direct jobs each year. By comprehensively working to reduce piracy, ACE will also work to protect the viability of high-quality creative jobs, as well as the network of local small businesses that service the industry all across the country,” comments John Rogovin, EVP and General Counsel, Warner Bros. Entertainment

Piracy also puts consumers at risk. One in three pirate sites target consumers with malware that can lead to a range of problems including identify theft and financial loss, according to a December 2015 report by Digital Citizens Alliance.

By bringing together global creative companies producing all forms of content, ACE will expand ongoing, cooperative efforts to reduce piracy. ACE will draw upon the global antipiracy resources of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in concert with the internal antipiracy expertise of the ACE coalition members. Specifically, ACE will conduct research, work closely with law enforcement to curtail illegal pirate enterprises, file civil litigation, forge cooperative relationships with existing national content protection organisations, and pursue voluntary agreements with responsible parties across the internet ecosystem.

“BBC Worldwide invests in, commercializes, and showcases content from the BBC around the world and champions British creativity globally. It is the lifeblood of our business and we must ensure that we do all we can to secure and protect it from theft and illegal distribution. The ACE initiative is hugely important at a time when content consumption habits are rapidly shifting and methods of piracy are becoming more and more sophisticated,” says Martyn Freeman, General Counsel, BBC Worldwide

“While we’re focused on providing a great consumer experience that ultimately discourages piracy, there are still bad players around the world trying to profit off the hard work of others. By joining ACE, we will work together, share knowledge, and leverage the group’s combined anti-piracy resources to address the global online piracy problem,” adds David Hyman, General Counsel, Netflix

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