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Business News Education & Events The Great Escape 2014 Top Stories
Weatherley renews call to ‘go after the money’ in piracy battle
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 1 May 2014
Mike Weatherley MP, who is, of course, Intellectual Property Adviser to David Cameron, has again called on the advertising industry to ensure that they are not providing revenue to the operators of piracy operations.
While various ad agencies and advertising industry organisations have had lists of websites to avoid advertising with for sometime now, in a bid to ensure ads don’t appear alongside unlicensed music and movies online, many in the content industries, and Weatherley, reckon much more could be done.
Weatherley has been working with the City Of London Police’s IP Crime Unit and the government’s Intellectual Property Office to review what extra measures could be implemented, and says that a report should be available in early June, with a view to then drafting a new voluntary code for the ad sector. Weatherley will also speak at two events in June on this topic.
Says the MP: “Following the money is central to my campaign to tackle IP crime. It’s quite straightforward in that the primary driver for individuals hosting websites with illegal content is money. By cutting off this significant revenue stream, it is inevitable that thousands of websites will simply close down. While the music and film industries have been slow to adapt to the digital market, there are now a plethora of cheap and simple ways to get content legally”.
And, of course, Weatherley will be taking part in the Maximising Music Rights strand at The Great Escape next week, discussing this and other piracy matters with CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke at the conclusion of the half-day focus on all things music rights. More on that here, and read the interview we did with Weatherley earlier this year here.
