Major US and European media companies have written to G7 culture ministers calling for decisive action to fight online piracy.
The letter’s signatories include Sky, Twentieth Century Fox, BBC Worldwide Ltd, BT Consumer, DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga GmbH, Canal + Group, European Producers Club, RTI, Premier League, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures and Sony Music, Warner Music Group and Walt Disney International.
They have asked G7 ministers, gathered in Florence for two days of talks, for their support to “ensure the continued success of the entertainment sector across the G7 countries and beyond.”
“We are faced with an issue as impactful as trafficking of art, as harmful to our sector as any other international challenge, and which is growing more significant by the day” says the letter.
“We are speaking about the systematic, widespread and sophisticated online infringement of our intellectual property by commercial enterprises that seek to make an illegitimate profit from our endeavour and creativity.
“It is better known as internet piracy and it places in jeopardy the capacity for our businesses to continue to invest, to grow and contribute to our economies and society.”
The media companies have asked the G7 to address the issue in a “coordinated and strategic manner, to systematically tackle all the internet piracy challenges that risk holding back our future growth.”
