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AAPA statement to the adoption of Recommendation against piracy of live content

AAPA

4 May 2023

The AAPA regrets the lack of ambition shown in the European Commission’s Recommendation on the piracy of live content

Following the publication of the Commission Recommendation on combating online piracy of sports and other live events, the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) expresses its disappointment and concern regarding the possibility that a review of the effectiveness of the Recommendation may not occur for 2,5 years.

Not only is this initiative of a non-legislative nature (while the European Parliament, supported by the AAPA and other actors, had previously called for a legislative initiative), the possibility of a 2,5-year assessment period does not address the urgency of the situation.

The possible 2,5-year assessment period in the Recommendation and the ineffective approach to piracy of live content enshrined in DSA means that the European Commission will not do anything else short term to address online piracy of live events, whose value is - by nature - consumed live. The Recommendation contains no deterrent to pirates to cease their illicit activities. It is, in essence, a green light for pirates to keep stealing live content online. It also means that de facto, European consumers will be exposed to the risks related to the consumption of – all types of – pirated content for a few more years. As demonstrated in a recent study conducted for AAPA , consumers also are the victims of piracy, through the targeted delivery and installation of malicious software (malware) onto their devices. The study found an average 57% risk of an audiovisual piracy app being installed with embedded malware. Furthermore, it carries no short-term incentive to hosting providers and other intermediaries to work with the legitimate industry to reduce piracy now.

Therefore, the AAPA calls on the European Commission to carry out its assessment of the effectiveness of the Recommendation as soon as possible.

Moreover, we regret that the European Commission also missed the opportunity to introduce a strong monitoring system and solid KPIs for the assessment of the Recommendation. Because those who facilitate piracy have no incentive to respond to soft measures, we ask the European Commission and the EU Intellectual Property Office Observatory (EUIPO) to urgently publish a set of KPIs setting out the objectives of this Recommendation. Without a clear deadline set in stone by which KPIs must be set out, online intermediaries will not be encouraged to act and step up the fight against Piracy. Given most of the data suggested below is easily available and ready to use, there should be no reason to delay the monitoring process. Therefore, we call on the EUIPO Observatory to consider the KPIs outlined in AAPA’s contribution to the Commission’s call for evidence , which includes:

• Quarterly data from rights holders on the volume of notices including success rate and whether or not these notices were processed in time.

• Quarterly data from hosting providers setting out (i) the volume of notices they have received from rights holders (ii) in how many cases they have acted to remove the content covered by the notice (iii) after what time period such removal took place, (iv) how many instances of repeat infringement they have identified and (v) how many customers they have permanently banned as a result of repeat infringement.

• Data from Member States on the extent to which blocking of live events has occurred following the Recommendation.

Finally, the Recommendation’s incentive for rights holders to “increase the availability, affordability, and attractiveness of their commercial offers”, implies that legal audiovisual content is not sufficiently available across the EU while from our perspective legal offers have never been more as widely and easily accessible than before. A recent study from the EUIPO Observatory found that European consumers increasingly choose legal offers and that both the quality and diversity of content offered on legal services is viewed as being superior to that found on illegal sources.

While the AAPA and its members will continue to contribute expertise and data to the European Commission and the EUIPO Observatory as the effects of the Recommendation are being monitored, we remain convinced that an EU legislative instrument remains the most efficient and effective way to tackle piracy of live content within and across EU Member States.

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Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance 2024-2029 EU Manifesto

by AAPA • 1 October 2024

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) publishes its first Manifesto, linked here . The document aims to recognise past efforts of EU legislators when it comes to content protection and the fight against copyright infringement, whilst admitting that more can and should be done to address this growing issue. Miruna Herovanu, Executive Director of AAPA said : " After years of laying the groundwork to combat online piracy it’s time for EU policymakers and beyond to fully acknowledge that decisive, targeted measures are needed at the European level. The rise of digital theft demands action. We call for strong political resolve to end the theft of our members' content. We're ready to support every stakeholder—law enforcement, policymakers, and industry representatives—to dismantle criminal networks and protect European consumers from harm."

AAPA ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

by AAPA • 28 May 2024

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) has announced the appointment of Miruna Herovanu as its Executive Director. Miruna was previously the Director at the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand in Europe in charge of Intellectual Property and Competition policies. She took up her position with AAPA on 27 May 2024 and will be based in Brussels. Miruna will replace Sheila Cassells who is retiring as Executive Vice President of AAPA and will report on a day-to-day basis to the two Co-Presidents, Mark Mulready, VP of Cyber Services at Irdeto and Oliver Pribramksy, Head of IP Protection and Committees at the Deutsche Fussball Liga. She will be responsible for the implementation of the strategy agreed by AAPA members, managing relationships with law enforcement agencies such as Europol, Eurojust, INTERPOL and the European Institutions, delivery of AAPA’s Working Group goals and general management of the Alliance. Mark Mulready said that: “We are delighted to appoint someone of Miruna’s calibre and experience to become the Executive Director of AAPA. Miruna’s commitment to copyright protection is well-known. Her knowledge of the Brussels institutions and the EUIPO will stand AAPA in good stead for future policy developments. A priority will be for Miruna to work closely with AAPA members, the EUIPO and the European Institutions to deliver on, inter alia, the goals of combatting online piracy of sports and other live events recommendation.” Miruna Herovanu commented that: “My professional experience demonstrated that piracy is an ever-growing issue that eats at the heart of Europe’s most important industries. This is a golden opportunity and a new professional challenge that will help further develop my passion for and commitment to protecting copyright. Being able to work with and support industry experts and practitioners in AAPA, law enforcement, the European Institutions and other trade associations is essential to the fight against piracy. I am excited to be taking on this role.”