MPAA: Voluntary agreements hard on piracy

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Local governments could help to push voluntary anti-piracy agreements to fight cross-border piracy, according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

MPAA global content protection chief, Dean Marks, said that cross-industry voluntary measures could reduce online piracy, in a document prepared for the meeting of World IP Organization’s advisory committee on enforcement.

“Piracy of copyright works has reached huge levels as a result of increasing internet bandwidth and availability, creating challenges for enforcement,” Marks said. “In addition to conventional enforcement methods, a combination of increased legitimate online offerings and effective voluntary measures are essential to diminish the overall levels of online infringement.”

He said that voluntary agreements are easily adaptable and allow governments to deal with infringement at a local level, rather than waiting for new laws and regulations.

Marks added: “Such measures benefit not only right holders, but also internet intermediaries, service providers, governments and individual users of the internet. Voluntary measures should therefore be encouraged by governments as an important means of addressing online copyright piracy.”

The MPAA currently engages in agreements with industry bodies worldwide to tackle copyright infringement.

Last year, the association teamed up with two domain name registries, including Donuts.

Donuts co-founder Jon Nevett described the agreement as a “groundbreaking partnership”. Both sides view the partnership as a successful undertaking, with Donuts concluding that the deal is a large development in continuing the battle against online piracy.