Action plan and new head for AEPOC
September 30, 2010
From Colin Mann in London
AEPOC, the European Association for the Protection of Encrypted Works and Services, has revealed the first steps in a new action plan designed to build the ground for a broader anti-piracy stance for the Association. The initiative sees the creation of standing committees targeted at specifically helping AEPOC members in the fight against audio-visual piracy, with the emphasis on extending AEPOC’s intelligence capacities and efforts in view of the European regulatory environment.
The development of the new action plan was spearheaded by AEPOC President Philippe-Olivier Rousseau and the Vice Presidents Christine Maury-Panis (Viaccess) and Michael Barley (BSkyB) during 2010 – and formally adopted at recent Ordinary General Assembly and Board of Directors meetings. The four work groups covering the standing Committees are: ‘Intelligence’, ‘Regulatory & Lobbying’, ‘Membership, Marketing & PR’ and ‘Finance’, all reporting to the Board of Directors.
According to Association President Rousseau, the new action plan builds the ground to more actively assess and effectively coordinate initiatives to address audio-visual piracy and foster the way for increased industry cooperation among the members. “With an enhanced organisational structure and more work resources clearly attributed, this initiative shall be instrumental in unlocking the potential inherent in AEPOC to take the Association to the next level in the fight against audio-visual piracy in Europe – and beyond,” he asserted.
The Association revealed that actions it considers reflect “unprecedented industry co-operation achieved by AEPOC members” in fighting the phenomenon of Card Sharing are already off to a successful start and will be revealed as soon as appropriate.
AEPOC has also confirmed that it is in the process of selecting a new Secretary General to replace Davide Rossi, who is stepping down to focus on his law career. Rossi has been Secretary General of AEPOC for more than ten years, and has been instrumental in developing the Association from a new venture to a renowned and respected European industry body.