A Four-Step Approach Against Piracy
As pirates develop ever-more sophisticated technologies and invest more resources every day, media companies are going to great lengths to fight back against illicit activities.
This means a four-step proactive approach to stem the rising tide, according to Gerardo Muñoz de Cote, Chief IP Counsel at Televisa Corporacion SA de CV (Mexico) and a member of INTA’s Board of Directors.
Televisa Corporacion SA de CV is a multimedia company with stakes in the film and TV industries, as well as sectors including publishing, gaming, radio, and soccer.
First, says Mr. Muñoz de Cote, it is necessary to implement anti-piracy services and a global intelligence network to monitor prime content across a range of channels, including cyberlockers, on-demand video streaming, and live video streaming sites, search engines, and social media sites. It’s also important to gain a broader understanding of the variety of illicit streaming devices (ISDs) and media app players that are available. “What is the trend today may not be tomorrow,” he adds.
Second, working with different marketplaces in order to prevent the sale of these types of products is also a must, according to Mr. Muñoz de Cote.
Third is enforcement, and he suggests that civil, administrative, and criminal actions should all be deployed when necessary.
"It’s absolutely vital to make the public aware of the cybersecurity and health and safety risks of ISDs and illegal apps."
Last but not least is enhancing public awareness. It’s absolutely vital to make the public aware of the cybersecurity and health and safety risks of ISDs and illegal apps, says Mr. Muñoz de Cote.
In the past, content providers could only target physical media, but now the digital environment has opened up numerous new sources of piracy, making the war on infringement time consuming and costly.
“Streaming services are the most popular and easy way for consumers to access non-authorized content. As a natural consequence, illegitimate streaming channels have become a huge problem for all media companies,” says Mr. de Cote.
A Wider Brief
Fighting piracy is not Mr. de Cote’s only job. He also focuses on trademarks and brand protection, among other topics, including through his work as a member of the INTA Board of Directors.
INTA has always supported the harmonization of laws and convergence of practices and played a leading role (along with other IP associations) in promoting the Madrid Protocol in Latin America.
“In today’s global environment, it’s clear that advocating for change in Latin American countries in order to standardize their forms of legislation, regulation, and harmonization of rules and practices is critical,” states Mr. Muñoz de Cote.
He adds that brand owners need more legal certainty in the region, so enforcement mechanisms and better access to trademark rights protection should be top of the agenda in the region.
The promotion of trademarks and brands falls under the first pillar of INTA’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan. And Mr. Muñoz de Cote believes INTA is doing excellent work on this front.
“Trademarks and brands are generally misunderstood by the public at large,” he explains, adding that INTA has consistently indicated that it is necessary to “demystify” trademarks and the role they play.
