Center for Copyright Information

Last updated
Center for Copyright Information
AbbreviationCCI
Membership
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)
American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)
AT&T
Cablevision
Comcast
Time Warner Cable
Verizon
Executive Director
Jill Lesser
Executive Board
Thomas Dailey (Chairman)
Steven Marks (Executive Vice President)
Marianne Grant
Alan Lewine
Daniel M. Mandil
Brent Olson
Advisory Board
 Jerry Berman
Jules Polonetsky
Leslie Harris

The Center for Copyright Information (CCI) is an American organization focused on advocacy and initiatives in support of copyright law. The CCI aims to educate the public about copyright law; coordinates with copyright owners and Internet service providers (ISPs) about issues related to online copyright infringement; assists with the design, implementation, review, and promotion of an online infringement notification and mitigation system (the Copyright Alert System); collects and disseminates online infringement data; and promotes lawful means of obtaining copyrighted works. [1] The organization was created as a partnership between industry associations, including the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, and five major American Internet service providers.

Contents

Background

The Center for Copyright Information was formed in September 2011 to coordinate efforts between the television, film and music industries and service providers to curb online copyright infringement and educate Internet subscribers about the issue. [2] The RIAA began negotiations to create the Center for Copyright Information and its Copyright Alert System in December 2008, after it ceased a five-year litigation campaign against individual file sharers. [3] Between 2003 and 2008, the RIAA adopted a practice of suing individual file sharers; previously it had focused on efforts to shut down peer-to-peer file sharing services. [4]

The MPAA and RIAA, along with the Independent Film & Television Alliance and American Association of Independent Music, as associations representing independent producers in their fields, reached an agreement in July 2011 with five large ISPs to create the Copyright Alerts System. [3] The trade groups argued copyright infringement was costing the U.S. economy hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in lost earnings and tax revenue annually. [5] New York Governor Andrew Cuomo helped bring parties to the table as part of his 2008 work with Internet service providers to block access to online child pornography. [6] Under the July 2011 agreement, several U.S. Internet service providers, including Verizon Communications, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems and AT&T agreed to send alerts to customers who appeared to be using their accounts for illegal downloading. [5] [7] At the time of the agreement 75% of all broadband internet usage was provided by one of these five companies. [8] The Memorandum of Understanding established that copyright holders and ISP’s would split the costs of the system 50/50. [9] According to the CCI’s first tax filing, chronicling the first 8 months of the companies operations, CSA operation costs were $1,377,633.00. [10] In July 2011, the Obama administration praised the formation of the CCI on the official White House Blog as "a positive step” and consistent with the executive branch’s strategy of encouraging voluntary intellectual property enforcement. [11] In 2011, the CCI had its corporate status revoked according to the Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for failing to file the proper paperwork, which they quickly resolved. [12] In 2013, the CCI announced it would be supporting iKeepSafe’s pilot program. iKeepSafe, is an independently created curriculum designed to educate children about copyright law and fair use in the digital age. [13]

Leadership and advisors

CCI is led by an executive committee, with Executive Director Jill Lesser as its head. Lesser was previously the senior vice president of domestic public policy for AOL, as well as the deputy director of public policy at People for the American Way. [14]

In addition, the CCI has an advisory board which "consults actively on issues the Executive Committee is considering." [14] The CCI's original advisory board includes consumer advocates Jerry Berman, founder of the Center for Democracy and Technology; Gigi Sohn, president and CEO of Public Knowledge; and Jules Polonetsky, director and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum. [14] [15] Leslie Harris, former President of the Center of Democracy and Technology replaced Gigi Sohn when she was asked by the Chairman of Federal Communication’s Commission, Tom Wheeler, to run the FCC’s External Affairs branch. [16]

The Copyright Alert System uses third parties to identify when copyrighted information is shared via peer-to-peer services. These third parties inform Internet service providers, which then send an alert to the relevant customer. The Copyright Alert System was launched in February 2013 by the Center for Copyright Information. [17] The CCI has stated that the primary goal of the system is "to make consumers aware of activity that has occurred using their Internet accounts, educate them on how they can prevent such activity from happening again, and provide information about the growing number of ways to access digital content legally." [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Peer-to-peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital media using peer-to-peer (P2P) networking technology. P2P file sharing allows users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network to locate the desired content. The nodes (peers) of such networks are end-user computers and distribution servers.

File sharing in Canada relates to the distribution of digital media in that country. Canada had the greatest number of file sharers by percentage of population in the world according to a 2004 report by the OECD. In 2009 however it was found that Canada had only the tenth greatest number of copyright infringements in the world according to a report by BayTSP, a U.S. anti-piracy company.

Arts and media industry trade groups, such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), strongly oppose and attempt to prevent copyright infringement through file sharing. The organizations particularly target the distribution of files via the Internet using peer-to-peer software. Efforts by trade groups to curb such infringement have been unsuccessful with chronic, widespread and rampant infringement continuing largely unabated.

File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia, program files, documents or electronic books/magazines. It involves various legal aspects as it is often used to exchange data that is copyrighted or licensed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal issues with BitTorrent</span>

The use of the BitTorrent protocol for the unauthorized sharing of copyrighted content generated a variety of novel legal issues. While the technology and related platforms are legal in many jurisdictions, law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies are attempting to address this avenue of copyright infringement. Notably, the use of BitTorrent in connection with copyrighted material may make the issuers of the BitTorrent file, link or metadata liable as an infringing party under some copyright laws. Similarly, the use of BitTorrent to procure illegal materials could potentially create liability for end users as an accomplice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TorrentFreak</span> Blog on file sharing, copyright infringement, and digital rights

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The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 is a United States law that increases both civil and criminal penalties for trademark, patent and copyright infringement. The law also establishes a new executive branch office, the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act</span> 1998 U.S. federal law

The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is United States federal law that creates a conditional 'safe harbor' for online service providers (OSP) by shielding them for their own acts of direct copyright infringement as well as shielding them from potential secondary liability for the infringing acts of others. OCILLA was passed as a part of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and is sometimes referred to as the "Safe Harbor" provision or as "DMCA 512" because it added Section 512 to Title 17 of the United States Code. By exempting Internet intermediaries from copyright infringement liability provided they follow certain rules, OCILLA attempts to strike a balance between the competing interests of copyright owners and digital users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright infringement</span> Usage of a copyrighted work without the authors permission

Copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works. The copyright holder is typically the work's creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recording Industry Association of America</span> Trade organization representing the recording industry in the U.S.

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<i>Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd</i>

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Torrent poisoning is intentionally sharing corrupt data or data with misleading file names using the BitTorrent protocol. This practice of uploading fake torrents is sometimes carried out by anti-infringement organisations as an attempt to prevent the peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing of copyrighted content, and to gather the IP addresses of downloaders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act 2011</span>

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Copyright Alert System (CAS) was a voluntary industry effort to educate and penalize internet users who engage in the unauthorized and unlawful distribution of copyrighted works via peer-to-peer file sharing services. The program was operated by the Center for Copyright Information, a consortium consisting of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and the internet service providers AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Countries blocking access to The Pirate Bay</span>

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Rightscorp. Inc is a Los-Angeles based copyright enforcement company, which locates alleged copyright violators and collects money from legal damages as well as out of court settlements on behalf of the copyright holder(s). Rightscorp manages copyrights of videos, music, and video games.

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References

  1. ↑ Memorandum of Understanding; Aug. 2011 amendment; Oct. 2012 amendment.
  2. ↑ "Center for Copyright Information Announces Three Major Steps Towards Implementation". www.copyrightinformation.org. Center for Copyright Information. April 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 Kravets, David (7 July 2011). "ISPs to Disrupt Internet Access of Copyright Scofflaws". Wired . Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Kravets, David (18 May 2010). "Copyright Lawsuits Plummet in Aftermath of RIAA Campaign". Wired . Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  5. 1 2 Richwine, Lisa (7 July 2011). "Internet providers to act against online pirates". Reuters . Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Sisario, Ben (7 July 2011). "To Slow Piracy, Internet Providers Ready Penalties". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Engelman, Eric (7 July 2011). "AT&T Joins Verizon in Fighting Web Piracy of Movies, Music". Bloomberg . Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Ernesto (August 3, 2012). "HAS YOUR ISP JOINED THE US "SIX STRIKES" ANTI-PIRACY SCHEME?". Torrent Freak. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Ernesto (17 October 2013). ""SIX STRIKES"COPYRIGHT ALERT SYSTEM COSTS MILLIONS". Torrent Freak. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "Center For Copyright Information Tax Return 2011" (PDF). IRS Form 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  11. ↑ Victoria Espinel (7 July 2011). "Working Together to Stop Internet Piracy". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved 20 February 2013– via National Archives.
  12. ↑ Sam. "US Center for Copyright Information Lost Its Title". Extra Torrent. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Mann, Colin. "Six strikes' effective in piracy fight". Advanced Television. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 "About the Center for Copyright Information". www.copyrightinformation.org. Center for Copyright Information. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Masnick, Mike (2 April 2012). "Organization Overseeing Six Strikes Agreement Between Labels And ISPs Includes Advisory Board To Try To Keep Tech Folks Happy" . Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  16. ↑ Tummarello, Kate (25 February 2014). "'Six strikes' thwarting piracy, leader says". The Hill. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  17. ↑ Stewart, Christopher (26 February 2013). "Warning System Launched for Movie, Music Pirates". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  18. ↑ Jill Lesser Espinel. "The Copyright Alert System: Moving to Implementation". www.copyrightinformation.org. Center for Copyright Information. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
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