Advanced Television

Anti-piracy resource for UK students

November 20, 2020

By Colin Mann

The UK advertising industry’s education non-profit body, Media Smart, in partnership with The Industry Trust for IP Awareness, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Intellectual Property Office, has launched a new school resource focused on intellectual property.

The resource – Piracy: What’s The Big Deal? – turns the spotlight on film and TV piracy. It encourages 11-14 year olds to think first before illegally accessing content by introducing key concepts of copyright and copyright infringement and explores the risks to individuals, the associated impact on the creative industry, and wider links to organised crime.

The teaching materials include an engaging film featuring influencer and actor Luke Franks and Sky One presenter Jacqueline Sheppard, which encourages students to identify the consequences and impact of piracy and to assess how serious these can be. Students will also be given the opportunity to create a short anti-piracy campaign in the form of a storyboard or a one-minute film. This element will run as a competition with schools being given the chance to win £2,000 worth of media equipment for their schools and prizes from digital entertainment retailer, Rakuten TV.

“Media Smart’s supporters have long wanted to work with the wider creative industry in educating young people about piracy, a subject that is ever more important during Covid-19 – when kids are online more,” stated Rachel Barber-Mack, Director of Media Smart. “We are proud to say that the teaching resource have been awarded the PSHE Association Quality Mark and developed to support the curriculum for living in a wider world with media literacy and digital resilience. Our partnership with the Industry Trust, MPA and IPO has enabled us to create innovative film-based materials plus competition that will resonate with and inspire our target audience.”

“Research conducted by the Industry Trust has found that young people are among those most likely to be tempted to infringe copyright,” advised Liz Bales, Chief Executive of The Industry Trust. “These studies highlight a need for anti-piracy and pro-industry messaging that engages with and informs younger audiences, allowing them to consider their actions and positively change attitudes towards piracy.”

“Our aim is primarily to education young people, to encourage them to value content and respect the creative industry and also to understand the personal and very real risks they expose themselves to if they do engage with illegally sourced content. We’re delighted to partner with Media Smart in order to produce this comprehensive and engaging resource that has the potential to reach millions of young people throughout the UK.”

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

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