VZCZCXRO8134
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHLO #1171/01 1161338
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251338Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8382
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBL/AMCONSUL BELFAST 1037
RUEHED/AMCONSUL EDINBURGH 0922

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 001171 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KIPR UK ECPS
SUBJECT: STEALING THE SHOW -- PRIVATE INDUSTRY ANTI-PIRACY EFFORTS 
IN THE UK 
 
LONDON 00001171  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Participants at a seminar on industry's efforts to 
stop film piracy broadly agreed on the need to outlaw camcording of 
films in cinemas.  The industry is working with law enforcement to 
prosecute the organized crime families who produce counterfeit 
DVD's. Previous public outreach campaigns to link pirated materials 
with organized crime have not been effective, so industry is now 
trying to create a social stigma around the purchase of counterfeit 
DVD's. Online piracy is growing and internet service providers, 
concerned about privacy and other issues, are resisting cooperation 
with content providers to find a solution. End Summary 
 
¶2. (U) On April 23, 2008, the UK Film Council organized a seminar on 
private industry efforts to stop film piracy and on challenges they 
face. Rupert Gavin, CEO of cinema chain Odeon, opened the seminar 
with a talk on the lack of a law against camcording in cinemas in 
the UK. He said that such laws in the U.S. and elsewhere have 
encouraged criminals to move their activities to the UK. A large 
percentage of pirated films originate as recordings of UK cinema 
screenings. The industry is lobbying HMG to address this issue. 
 
¶3. (U) The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) focuses on 
investigating and prosecuting individuals at the highest levels of 
organized crime who produce pirated DVD's for sale in the UK.  The 
major film companies established FACT in 1983 to combat film piracy. 
Working closely with the police and the Office of Fair Trading 
(OFT), they investigate DVD peddlers and gather information for the 
police to use in their investigations.  FACT says that Chinese 
organized crime syndicates control the majority of pirated DVD sales 
in the UK. The police do not have enough resources to arrest 
street-level sellers of fake DVD's and some boroughs will not 
prosecute them. FACT believes the everyday presence of these vendors 
contributes to the public perception that copyright theft is not a 
serious crime. In fact, research presented at the conference shows 
that many neighborhoods regard these pirated DCD sellers as someone 
providing a public service, similar to an ice cream truck. 
 
¶4. (U) The Industry Trust for IP Awareness (ITIPA) said its earlier 
campaigns to link organized crime and copyright theft in consumers' 
minds had no noticeable impact on the sales of pirated DVD's. 
Industry survey and focus group results reveal that although the 
majority of consumers understand there is a link between film piracy 
and crime, they still rationalize their decisions to purchase 
pirated DVD's, because of the huge price difference. For many 
consumers, legitimate DVD's or cinema tickets are unaffordable, and 
they have little sympathy for Hollywood producers who have a 
glamorous, wealthy image.  ITIPA has determined that ads providing 
logical reasons for not buying pirated DVD's are not very effective. 
Instead, now they are creating ads with an emotional appeal.  They 
want to create a social stigma surrounding the purchase of fake 
DVD's with their character "Knock Off Nigel." 
(www.knockoffornot.com) However, a Google search by Econoff for 
Knock Off Nigel quickly reveals that the ads may not have 
credibility with their intended audience. Most of the comments 
online from private citizens seem very cynical of the ITIPA's 
efforts. 
 
¶5. (U) Thomas Dillon of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) 
believes that online film piracy is a massive problem that will 
continue to grow if left unchecked.  There were 52 million illegal 
downloads in the UK in 2007. The MPA says that increased bandwidth 
speeds and ever-increasing ease of movie downloading will cause this 
number to grow. There were over 180 million illegal downloads in 
Spain in 2007 and film and DVD revenues decreased by six percent two 
years in a row. The MPA says that although there is no concrete 
connection, the film industry in South Korea has seen its sales 
plummet as that country has rolled out super-fast broadband to over 
80 percent of the population. 
 
¶6. (U) Dillon is also concerned at the lack of cooperation from 
internet service providers (ISP's) in the attempt to reach a 
solution to the problem of online piracy. The Gowers Review said 
that if content providers and UK ISP's could not reach their own 
solution to internet film piracy, the government should legislate a 
solution. The Gowers Review is an independent report on the UK 
intellectual property framework commissioned by the Chancellor of 
the Exchequer in 2006. Charles Dunstone of Carphone Warehouse, a 
leading British ISP, recently told BBC that ISP's are not 
responsible for policing the internet. 
 
¶7. (U) John Woodward, CEO of the UK Film Council, believes the 
government will not pass legislation banning camcorders in cinemas 
and will focus on online piracy He also predicts that HMG will have 
to legislate guidelines for ISP's on how to deal with online piracy. 
ISP's are concerned that they could be held liable for giving 
content providers or the police information on their customers. In 
addition, ISP's worry that if they bar their customers from 
distributing copyrighted material; they could lose those customers 
 
LONDON 00001171  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
to competitors. However, Woodward believes that the Gower's Review 
and other reports have raised the government's awareness of IP 
issues. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: Despite the film industry's best efforts, British 
consumer apathy towards copyright infringement seems to be the 
biggest obstacle faced by the film industry in its anti-piracy 
efforts. While not as ubiquitous as in other countries, purchasing 
"knock-off" DVD's in pubs and elsewhere is widely practiced in the 
UK and viewed as socially acceptable. The government's push to make 
broadband internet access faster and more widely available combined 
with more user friendly online software for downloading pirated 
films means that the film industry faces an uphill battle in its 
fight to protect its copyrighted materials in the UK. End Comment. 
 
 
TUTTLE