Skip to main content

EU Signs European Charter for Film Online

Dow Jones reports that production companies and broadband infrastructure providers agreed on rules to jumpstart online distribution of films, the European Commission said.

The "European Charter for Film Online" was signed at the Cannes Film Festival. Commission officials said its was the first of its kind in the world and ended a standoff between the makers and distributors of films over anti-piracy measures.
We hope this is the end the problem that has been plaguing the industry - producers didn't want to put their films online fearing that they were going to be stolen," said Martin Selmayr, a Commission spokesman. "This represents the first steps to work jointly to fight piracy."

According to Selmayr, the Commission now will support a pan-European license for online film distribution. In this way, companies won't have to ask for 25 separate licences, one for each E.U. member. Under the agreement, infrastructure makers agreed to put the new releases online only when they are released as DVDs. Producers agreed to recognize " peer-to-peer technology," often used for unauthorized copying "as positive development for the legitimate online distribution of properly secured content."

Popular posts from this blog

Bold Broadband Policy: Yes We Can, America

Try to imagine this scenario, that General Motors and Ford were given exclusive franchises to build America's interstate highway system, and also all the highways that connect local communities. Now imagine that, based upon a financial crisis, these troubled companies decided to convert all "their" local arteries into toll-roads -- they then use incremental toll fees to severely limit all travel to and from small businesses. Why? This handicapping process reduced the need to invest in building better new roads, or repairing the dilapidated ones. But, wouldn't that short-sighted decision have a detrimental impact on the overall national economy? It's a moot point -- pure fantasy -- you say. The U.S. political leadership would never knowingly risk the nation's social and economic future on the financial viability of a restrictive duopoly. Or, would they? The 21st century Global Networked Economy travels across essential broadband infrastructure. The forced intro...