Online Copyright Infringements

Valerio Papajorgji, EU Observatory on Infringements of IP Rights Brussels, 16 April 2013

Online environments

File-sharing sites - FilesTube, 4Shared, MediaFire, RapidShare, etc. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks - eMule, ShareAza, uTorrent, FrostWire, etc. Torrent search engines - ISOHunt, The Pirate Bay, Torrentz, ExtraTorrent, etc. Streaming channels - TVtube, FreeTV, Veetle, LiveTV, Free2Watch, etc.

Different payments/support

Donations - P2P, Torrent and Streaming Subscriptions - File-sharing, Torrent and Streaming Advertising websites and banners (Ads) - All types

Some figures

• Piracy on NBC content increased by 11.4% relative to ABC, CBS, and FOX piracy, after NBC’s content was removed from iTunes in 2010. Danaher et al. (2010).

• On 18 January 2012, 25 petabytes (25 million of gigabytes) of infringed content was available for download from Megaupload servers. Parloff (2012);

• Digital movie revenues for two studios 6-10% higher over the 18 weeks after Megaupload shutdown (progressively higher for countries affected by a higher penetration of Megaupload). Smith (2013);

• Publicity surrounding the HADOPI law caused a 20‐25% increase in French music sales. Danaher et al. (2012);

• “Game of Thrones” (piracy) record of downloads on the premiere day (31 March 2013): more than 1.000.000! http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/02/technology/game-of-thrones-piracy/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Dutch survey on file-sharing

Percentage of downloaders who purchased something in the previous year after having downloaded it from an illegal source. Institute for Information Law and CentERdata, The Netherlands, 30 November 2012

2008 2012

Music 63% 20%

Film 48% 23%

Possible actions 1. Knowledge Building

i. Review existing and possible up to date evidence based studies in this field performed by academia, specialised private consultants, etc.; including Obs. study on business models

ii. Carry out studies on a regular basis on infringing business models and on how consumer behaviours relate to both legitimate and infringing offers over the internet.

2. Building partnership for action i. Organise a preliminary workshop involving the main actors and potential

partners ii. Promote the creation of a platform supported by the Observatory among all

relevant stakeholders with the aim of exchanging information and designing actions to combat online infringement

3. Education i. Work with partners on consumer communication measures

4. Other actions i. Consider the creation of a European registry of legal online offers

Expected benefits

Increased awareness on online copyright infringement Continuous provision of reliable analysis and statistics for evidence-

based action Improved dialogue and cooperation between public and private

Consistent limitation of online copyright infringements More effective protection of copyright

Shift towards legal business models

Thank You

Valerio Papajorgji Administrator Enforcement EU Observatory on Infringements of IP Rights + 34 965 137 588 valerio.papajorgji@oami.europa.eu twitter/oamitweets youtube/oamitubes www.oami.europa.eu