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INTERNET AND MEDIA INDUSTRY LEADERS UNVEIL PRINCIPLES TO FOSTER ONLINE INNOVATION WHILE PROTECTING COPYRIGHTS
October 18, 2007— Several of the world’s leading Internet and media companies today announced their joint support for
a set of collaborative principles that enable the continued growth and development
of user-generated content online and respect the intellectual property of content
owners.
The principles serve as a comprehensive set of guidelines to help user-generated
content (UGC) services and content creators work together towards their collective
goal of bringing more content to more consumers through legitimate channels.
The principles acknowledge a collective respect for protecting copyrights and
recognize that filtering technologies must be effective and are only a part
of what is necessary to achieve this goal.
The companies supporting these principles include CBS Corp., Dailymotion,
Fox Entertainment Group, Microsoft Corp., MySpace, NBC Universal, Veoh Networks
Inc., Viacom Inc. and The Walt Disney Company.
The principles, which are attached and available in full at www.ugcprinciples.com,
call for a broad range of constructive and cooperative efforts by copyright
owners and UGC services. They include:
- Implementation of state of the art filtering technolog y with the goal
to eliminate infringing content on UGC services, including blocking infringing
uploads before they are made available to the public;
- Upgrading technology when commercially reasonable;
- Cooperating to ensure that the technology is implemented in a manner that
effectively balances legitimate interests, including fair use;
- Cooperation in developing procedures for promptly addressing claims that
content was blocked in error;
- Regularly using the technology to remove infringing content that was uploaded
before the technology could block it;
- Identification and removal of links to sites that are clearly dedicated
to, and predominantly used for, the dissemination of infringing content;
and,
- Promotion of content-rich, infringement-free services by continuing to
cooperatively test new technologies and by collaboratively updating these
principles as appropriate to keep current with evolving developments.
The ease of uploading video content on the Internet has led to the creation
of millions of original works by new creators – works that range from
scripted programs, to virtuoso musical performances and to humorous skits and
social parody. It also has resulted in the proliferation of uploaded content
that infringes copyrighted works.
The companies backing these principles believe that they can collectively
find a path that fosters creativity while respecting the rights of copyright
owners. Distributors of copyright-infringing content stifle both technological
innovation and artistic creation in ways that ultimately will hurt the consumer
and hinder the digital economy.
These principles also reflect a strongly-held commitment to work cooperatively
and constructively across industries to address the challenge of developing
new modes of distribution while protecting intellectual property and, with
a shared goal of promoting a rich, legitimate, and compelling environment for
consumers of online content. While the supporters’ current practices
may not strictly adhere to each and every principle, they are all committed
to fully implementing these principles by year’s end.
The companies believe that adopting such principles is essential to achieving
the enormous potential opened up by the Internet through UGC services. Widespread
adoption of these principles will encourage innovation, enable new creative
expression and further the goal of eliminating infringing content from UGC
services. It will allow innovative business models to develop. Most importantly,
it will benefit consumers by encouraging further cooperation between the creators
of content -- from the largest entertainment company to the individual artist
-- and the companies that distribute their works.
The supporters urge others to embrace these principles. While recognizing
that adhering to these principles may require each company to yield some from
positions it has held, at the end of the day the supporters believe all will
benefit from such compromise. The supporters look forward to further discussions
with other parties to attain their support.
Statements from the Participating Companies:
Bob Iger, President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company
“These principles offer a road map for unlocking the enormous potential
of online video and user-generated content. Cooperation among us, aided by
emerging technologies, can clear the way for further growth in the availability
of online video in ways that will be good for consumers, good for copyright
owners and good for uploading services.”
Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation
"The
cross-industry dialogue that resulted in these principles is an important step
forward in establishing the Internet as a great platform for video content – a
platform that allows services to innovate and preserves incentives for all creators,
big and small, by respecting copyright. With this new, consensus-based
foundation, the technology and entertainment industries are demonstrating how
we can work collaboratively to build great new video experiences for our mutual
customers."
Peter Chernin, President and COO, Fox Entertainment Group
“In the end, technical innovation has always proved to be a positive
driver in shaping our businesses and spurring greater and more robust distribution
models. The principles unveiled today underscore that conviction by enabling
a path that will reward content owners, distributors, and most importantly,
consumers.”
Philippe Dauman, President and CEO, Viacom Inc.
“We are delighted that so many leading companies have come together
behind a set of principles that provide a framework for intellectual property
to live in harmony with technical advances. These principles will enable innovative
technology and great content to come together to spur greater innovation and,
most importantly, much richer entertainment experiences for consumers.”
Chris DeWolfe, CEO and co-founder, MySpace
“As part of one of the world’s largest media companies and with
original content of our own, we’re vigilant about
respecting and protecting copyrights. Internally, we’ve developed
an industry-leading suite of copyright protections for content owners and we’re
thrilled to align forces with the world’s top media and Internet companies
to develop best practices.”
Steve Mitgang, CEO of Veoh Networks
“Veoh firmly believes that industry cooperation like this is the key
to encouraging innovation that benefits viewers, copyright holders and service
providers alike. We wholeheartedly support these principles, and hope that
other major media and technology companies will join in our effort to grow
this emerging market and give viewers even more access to the high-quality
video content they want.”
Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation
“The cornerstone of the CBS business is its audience. CBS believes
that these principles will assist us in our on-going online delivery to our
audience of all the great CBS content, and will help balance the rights and
responsibilities of both content owners and sites accepting user generated
content. I applaud the cooperation among the participating online operators
and the networks.”
Mark Zaleski, Executive Chairman, DailyMotion
“Dailymotion strongly believes in the respecting the rights of all copyright
owners. As such, our company has been involved in the drafting of these Principles
since it began. We are confident that this cooperation with content owners,
further aided by audio and video filtering technology that we are currently
implementing, is a win-win for all involved. We are proud to continue to be
at the edge of innovation in both our product and in copyright protection.”
Jeff Zucker, President and CEO, NBC Universal
“Today’s announcement marks a significant step in transforming
the Internet to a popular medium that respects the rule of law. By recognizing
the mutual benefits of a technology-based framework to control piracy, technology
and content companies have laid the foundation for the lawful growth of video
on the Internet.”
Contacts
Zenia Mucha: 818-560-5300
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