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EU to unveil media piracy crackdown
09:25 Monday 28th October 2002
Reuters
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New laws will create tougher standards against pirates, seeking to stem the media industry's estimated £2.8bn annual losses
The European Commission will propose new legislation next month aimed at strengthening the fight against music and film piracy, a shady business worth £2.8bn a year globally for pirate discs alone, EU sources said.
The new rules will create tougher minimum standards for each of the 15 EU member states, filling existing gaps and loopholes allowed by the current legal fragmentation. But it will not go as far as imposing mandatory criminal sanctions for pirates.
The proposal has been eagerly awaited by the industry, which says it faces an increasing flow of illegal copies of CDs, video tapes and DVDs.
"The industry is very pleased that the European Commission is going to address the serious problem of piracy. We look forward to strong measures," said Thomas Dillon, legal councillor for anti-piracy at the Motion Picture Association.
The music industry claims that rampant piracy, often from music Web sites, has partly accounted for the slowdown in global music sales. Among the hardest hit have been the world's top five music companies: EMI, Universal Music, Warner Music, Sony and BMG.
The proposals are expected to include harmonised procedures for searching, seizure and proof by national authorities and criteria for calculating damages.
The draft bill would also create tighter co-operation between national authorities to reduce administrative requirements and speed up action, industry sources said.
Problematic Eastern Europe
According to data released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), nearly 50 percent of all CDs sold worldwide are illegal copies.
In the EU, Spain, Italy and Greece stand out as the most affected by the problems, with piracy rates of between 25 and 50 percent.
The survey also showed piracy was rife in several east and central European countries soon to join the 15-nation European Union, underscoring the need for a strong legal framework before the bloc becomes bigger.
The Czech Republic, Poland and the Baltic states, used as gateways for pirate goods into Europe from Russia and the Ukraine, suffer piracy rates of around 50-60 percent.
For the film industry, the Motion Picture Association estimates that in the United States alone, $3bn (£2bn) a year in potential revenues are lost due to piracy.
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