Spain: Content industry anti-piracy campaign

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Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) is spearheading an anti-piracy awareness campaign ‘No piratees tu futuro’ (Don’t steal your future).

The campaign is supported by La Liga football and with the collaboration of content industry bodies and companies such as ADIF, Atresmedia, la Federación de Cines de España (FECE) [the Federation of Cinemas of Spain], Disney, Discovery Channel, Mediapro, Movistar +, Orange, Vodafone, PrisaRadio, Kiss Media Group and RTVE, who will broadcast and publish ads for free. Rail network operator ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias) will publish posters in train stations.

The campaign has no cost to the exchequer. For three months it will be broadcast on television, radio, audiovisual platforms and web pages in all media who want to collaborate.

This campaign is in line with government policy, set out in the 2020 Culture Plan, to combat the infringement of intellectual property rights. This policy has two complementary aspects: legal prosecution and prevention. Legal measures have been reinforced in the last reform of the Intellectual Property Law, Civil Procedure Law and the Criminal Code. The ‘Don’t steal your future’ campaign sets out with the strategic aim of educating and making society aware as a preventive measure.

‘Don’t steal your future’ aims primarily to reach a younger audience, without excluding any other, translating the message via each person’s special interest, be it cinema, football, literature or music.

According to the Ministry, content piracy is a scourge that prevents growth in the cultural and sports sector. Behind a song, a movie, a book or even a football game, there are many professionals who work to make their works known and can enjoy them. ‘Don’t pirate your future’ aims to raise awareness of the right of each person to develop professionally as an author, filmmaker, musician or footballer, using these four examples in the campaign’s creatives.

According to data from the Encuesta de Población Activa (Labour Force Survey), in 2016, some 545,000 people worked in the cultural sector, representing 3 per cent of total employment in Spain. To these figures must be added those dedicated to football or ancillary work required to produce cultural content, for example, hairdressers, make up, transportation, catering, hospitality. “Without legal consumption that respects copyright, these jobs disappear,” warns the Ministry.