Blog Post

Philippe-Olivier Rousseau elected as new AEPOC President

AAPA

17th February 2010

Jean Grenier retires from presidency after 13 years of successful anti-piracy leadership
Philippe-Olivier Rousseau with proven track record in the field of media and telecoms

Philippe-Olivier Rousseau (53), Managing Director and Senior Banker at BNP Paribas has been elected as new president of the European Anti-Piracy Association, AEPOC. Mr. Rousseau is the successor to Jean Grenier (75), the former General Director of Eutelsat, who retires after pioneering and developing the first pan-European industry initiative against audio-visual piracy during 13 years. The AEPOC General Assembly appointed Philippe-Olivier Rousseau relying on his neutrality and long-standing, proven track record in the media and telecommunications sectors within manifold assignments and directorships over the past 30 years. Among many other commitments the telecommunications engineer and musician Rousseau held positions at the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA), Eutelsat, Intelsat and Music Choice Europe.

Mr. Rousseau is now to head the association’s future development: The co-ordination of effective political and legal industry initiatives against piracy, the exchange of technical information, expertise and best practice as well as tightening AEPOC’s relationships with EU policy associations and global anti-piracy partners will be – among many other tasks – on the agenda of the new president.

Philippe-Olivier Rousseau: “AEPOC unites some of the industry’s finest firms and renown experts in the name of a healthy, secure and striving European media and telecommunications market. Safeguarding innovation and growth has to be one of the key issues of European industry policies. Following the ground-breaking work of Jean Grenier and the association’s members I am extremely honoured to represent and develop AEPOC’s achievements, since piracy is becoming an increasingly aggressive global phenomenon.”

The election of Philippe-Olivier Rousseau marked the association’s board of directors meeting and general assembly, recently held in Brussels. The members expressed their respect and gratitude to Jean Grenier. Under Jean Grenier’s presidency AEPOC started its first activities in 1995 and was officially founded in 1997 by six members. With Jean Grenier heading AEPOC the association achieved significant growth in membership and spearheaded major political and industry achievements such as the proliferation of the EU’s cornerstone anti-piracy legislation, the Conditional Access Directive 98/84/EC, as well as the Bratislava Charter, the AEPOC Code of Ethics and Good Practice. The association was able to benefit largely from Mr. Greniers long-standing expertise and global network as former General Director of Eutelsat, pioneer and doyen of the European media and telecoms industry.

Jean Grenier: “It was a great honour for me to support AEPOC from its first steps as President – and representative of member company Eutelsat. Looking ahead, as the world becomes increasingly dependent on reliable and secure access to media, the economic and political threat of piracy is more menacing than ever. AEPOC will have to use all the energy and determination of its new president, the vice presidents and all of its members to continue the fight against piracy and bring down any of the emerging threats.”

Mr. Grenier continued: “Thanks to Mr. Rousseau’s ultra-panoramic experience in the media and telecommunication sectors, reaching from finance over to operations and politics, I am fully convinced that a President, who is not representing an AEPOC member company, will be in an excellent position to lead the association – in close partnership with the support of the Vice Presidential team of Mrs. Christine Maury-Panis (Viaccess) and Mr. Michael Barley (BSkyB).”

The next AEPOC meeting is planned for March 2010

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AAPA Honours Law Enforcement Agencies with Annual Awards for Excellence in Copyright Enforcement

by AAPA • 19 December 2024

Date, Brussels, Belgium The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) is proud to announce the recipients of its annual awards, celebrating exceptional contributions by law enforcement agencies in combatting online piracy and protecting intellectual property in the audiovisual sector. This year’s honorees have demonstrated exemplary efforts in the investigation, enforcement, and dismantling of illegal content distribution networks that undermine the creative industries. The AAPA Annual Awards recognize agencies whose proactive strategies and collaborative actions have significantly advanced copyright enforcement online. These awards reflect the growing importance of international cooperation in addressing the evolving and sophisticated tactics used by piracy networks. Oliver Pribramsky, Co-President of AAPA , praised the recipients of the awards, saying: "We are honoured to recognise the outstanding work of these administrative and law enforcement agencies. Online piracy remains one of the most significant challenges facing the audiovisual industry, costing billions in lost revenue each year and threatening jobs across the sector. The dedication and innovation displayed by our award winners not only protect the industry but also reinforce the critical role that law enforcement plays in safeguarding intellectual property in the digital age." Award Recipients This year’s AAPA Awards for Excellence in Copyright Enforcement are presented to: 1. Lifetime achievement Award for Sheila Cassells: On behalf of all AAPA members and stakeholders from all spectrums of the industry, we would like to thank Sheila for her loyalty and friendship over the last 14 years where she transformed AAPA into the organisation it is today and honour her remarkable achievements and lifelong dedication to the fight against audiovisual piracy with this Lifetime Achievement Award.

AAPA MEMBERS JOIN FORCES WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE WORLD’S LARGEST-EVER OPERATION AGAINST AUDIOVISUAL PIRACY

by AAPA • 27 November 2024

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) has supported the Catania Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Croatian State Attorney Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime and law enforcement agencies in Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Croatia and England in dismantling the world’s largest transnational criminal organisation alleged to be serving pirated audiovisual content to over 22 million users, and generating over 250 million euros in illegal revenue per month. The operation, conducted yesterday, was coordinated by Europol and Eurojust and involved over 270 officers from the Polizia Postale carrying out 89 property searches in 15 Italian regions. An additional 14 searches were conducted by law enforcement agencies abroad, including five addresses in England, and further searches and seizures in the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Germany and Croatia. 11 people were arrested by the Cybercrime Division of the Croatian Police. During yesterday's searches, cryptocurrencies in excess of EUR 1,650,000 and cash in excess of EUR 40,000 were seized as alleged proceeds of the offences committed. These immediately seized proceeds represent only a fraction of an illegal business that is alleged to yield approximately EUR 3 billion per annum. Digital piracy harms the entertainment and creative industries across the continent and is often run by sophisticated criminal networks that may use their profits to fund other serious forms of criminal activity. At the same time, illegal streams can expose the end user to the risks of data theft, fraud and malware. Mark Mulready, Co-president of AAPA, said: “We applaud the efforts of the Catania Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Croatian State Attorney Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime, Europol, Eurojust, and all of the law enforcement agencies involved in these operations. The scale of these multi-jurisdictional law enforcement actions highlights the considerable challenge our industry faces when dealing with such sophisticated international pirate networks. We are proud to have collaborated with our law enforcement partners to provide technical training and in-field support to assist them in successfully tackling the world’s largest pirate network. We are very grateful to the AAPA members who supported this action day, including Premier League, Sky Group, Nagravision, Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), beIN Sports, United Media, Friend MTS and Irdeto. We will continue to closely collaborate with law enforcement agencies in Europe and beyond to enable them to successfully identify, investigate and prosecute large-scale cross-border pirate networks.” ---------- AAPA contact: Mark Mulready +31651246415 Co-President AAPA Miranda Rock +44 7957 391 498 Rocket Launch for AAPA

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.”