Advanced Television

US Copyright Alert System set to begin

February 27, 2013

By Colin Mann

Jill Lesser, Executive Director of the US’s Center for Copyright Information (CCI) – a collaborative effort between content creators in the movie and music industries and leading IPSs to help educate the public and deter copyright infringement – has confirmed the implementation phase of the Copyright Alert System (CAS).

In a Blog Post, Lesser says the beginning of Implementation marks the culmination of many months of work on the collaborative effort to curb online piracy and promote the lawful use of digital music, movies and TV shows. “The CAS marks a new way to reach consumers who may be engaging in peer-to-peer (P2P) piracy and I am excited that our new website features information on the CAS, the Independent Review Process, copyright, P2P networks, and numerous consumer oriented legal sources for music, movies and television shows,” she says.

“We hope this co-operative, multi-stakeholder approach will serve as a model for addressing important issues facing all who participate in the digital entertainment ecosystem. From content creators and owners to distributors to consumers, we all benefit from a better understanding of the choices available and the rights and responsibilities that come with using digital content, thereby helping to drive investment in content creation and innovative services that offer exciting ways to enjoy music, video and all digital content,” she continues.

According to Lesser, over the course of the next several days, participating ISPs will begin rolling out the system. “Practically speaking, this means our content partners will begin sending notices of alleged P2P copyright infringement to ISPs, and the ISPs will begin forwarding those notices in the form of Copyright Alerts to consumers. Most consumers will never receive Alerts under the programme. Consumers whose accounts have been used to share copyrighted content over P2P networks illegally (or without authority) will receive Alerts that are meant to educate rather than punish, and direct them to legal alternatives. And for those consumers who believe they received Alerts in error, an easy to use process will be in place for them to seek independent review of the Alerts they received,” she confirms.

“As with any innovative system, the process of building the CAS has taken time. We appreciate the collaborative engagement from the many organisations, companies and professionals involved in CCI who helped advise us along the way. CCI and its partners have worked hard to meet our goal of implementing a system that educates consumers about copyright and P2P networks, encourages the use of legal alternatives, and safeguards customer privacy,” she concludes.

Categories: Articles, Content, Piracy, Policy, Regulation, Rights