New Report Examines International Piracy and Potential Countermeasures

IP House delves into the challenges posed by international video piracy and explores potential strategies to combat this growing global issue.

September 19, 2024

Washington, September 19, 2024 — A new report released today by IP House, a leading global company with expertise in intellectual property protection, delves into the challenges posed by international video piracy and explores potential strategies to combat this growing global issue.

The report, titled “Overseas and Out of Reach: International Video Piracy and U.S. Options to Combat It,” examines the impact of piracy on consumers and the creative industry, as well as the methods employed by overseas criminals to target American audiences.

“The digital piracy ecosystem is a global criminal enterprise that preys on American consumers,” said Jan van Voorn, CEO of IP House. “While these criminals operate with impunity from overseas, site-blocking provides an effective and proportionate tool to support legitimate businesses, prevent credit card fraud, and counteract the spread of egregious malware that puts consumers at risk.”

IP House’s analysis highlights the challenges faced by law enforcement in addressing piracy activities originating from countries beyond the reach of U.S. jurisdiction. The report also explores the effectiveness and proportionality of site-blocking measures, a strategy adopted by more than 50 countries around the world to combat online piracy.

The report provides valuable insights into the complexities of the issue and the potential implications of countermeasures.

Key findings from the report

• Site-blocking is effective. In countries where websites were restricted, the amount of piracy dropped significantly. For example, piracy traffic decreased by 89 percent in the United Kingdom, 70 percent in Portugal, and 69 percent in Australia.
• Site-blocking reduces the availability of pirated content and migrates consumers from piracy sites to legitimate streaming services. For example, when site-blocking was implemented in India, it resulted in an 8 percent increase in traffic to lawful streaming sites. In Brazil, site-blocking measures led to a 5 percent boost in legal streaming.
• Piracy sites are often operated by sophisticated crime syndicates who exploit vulnerabilities in international law to accrue substantial illicit revenues.
• Piracy causes significant financial losses to the creative industry, undermines investment, stifles creativity, and critically puts consumers at risk.

van Voorn stated,

“The major takeaway of the report is that by cracking down on websites that exclusively promote and distribute content illegally, we can safeguard American consumers, bolster legitimate businesses, and deter future piracy activities.”

Click here to read the full report.
 

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About IP House

IP House serves major organizations across industries to defend and enforce their intellectual property rights anywhere in the world. With a rapidly growing team of 250+ professional investigators, analysts and IP law specialists, IP House deploys integrated proactive and reactive tactics to detect, disrupt, escalate and enforce cases of IP infringement and commercial fraud. More information is available at ip-house.com.

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