The PPA, in conjunction with media law firm Wiggin, held a Breakfast Briefing on September 24 on the threat to publishers from digital piracy.
Led by Wiggin LLP Partner Simon Baggs, the briefing analysed the piracy landscape, looking at how the law is slowly shifting to better protect rights holders.
Baggs’ presentation looked at classic acts of infringement, the role links sites play in content piracy and the possible outcomes when rights holders take direct action against end users.
It also encompassed the Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2010 and outlined some practical steps for rights holders to combat online piracy.
He said: “Rights holders should be ramping up Notice and Takedown procedures and bringing more blocking claims as the more claims are brought, the more costs will be reduced.”
Rights holders have too long been let down by the law
Simon Baggs, Partner, Wiggin LLP
He also addressed the recent recommendations of the Hargreaves Review and advised that publishers should start collating evidence to support the claim that online piracy is causing significant harm.
The briefing concluded with a look the wider efforts taking place to combat piracy, which include an ongoing discussions between stakeholders, such as the PPA, to introduce a code that accelerates the process of blocking websites and reduces legal costs.
Baggs also said talks were being held with Google to de-rank pirate websites and encouraged publishers to engage more with Government on the piracy issue.
For more information on this session and the PPA's work to tackle digital piracy, please contact the PPA's Head of Public Affairs Mark Burr.