One of the major topics on the agenda this year at the Cannes Film Festival is the growing problem of piracy. A group of 16 executives and studio heads from around the world got together along with the French Minister of culture last night to encourage directors and actors to adopt their anti-piracy message before it’s too late. They are keen to get directors on board because they’re the major victims of the crime.
The think tank is seeking solutions for film piracy, and has come up with three major points:
Firstly, the recognition that downloading films is illegal, and it’s dangerous for the industry (well, you’ve got to start somewhere).
Secondly, that the public need to be educated that downloading is wrong – Jack Valenti, president of the MPAA has already been speaking on university campuses in America. “We need copyrights that are more stern and the political will to enforce them. We need to educate and change behaviour. Too many think that it is risk free so ‘I can do it too’.”
Thirdly, the group recognised that the industry needs to be technologically savvy to be able to combat piracy. Indeed Renaud Donnedieu, the French Minister of Culture and Communication announced: “The President of France is ready to translate such a plan into concrete action and intends to announce a statement next week addressing prevention, repression, communication and positive action.”
Film Festival website
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Fraser Lovatt
Fraser Lovatt has spent the last fifteen years working in publishing, TV and the Internet in various capacities, and believes that they will be seperate platforms for at least a while yet. His main interests at the moment are exploring where Linux is taking home entertainment and how technology is conferring technical skills on more and more people.
Fraser Lovatt was born in the same year that 2001: A Space Odyssey was delighting and confusing people in the cinemas, and developed a lifelong love of technology as soon as he realised that things could be taken apart, sometimes put back together again, but mostly left in bits or made into something the original designer hadn't quite planned upon.
At school he was definitely in the ZX Spectrum/Magpie/BMX camp, rather than the BBC Micro/Blue Peter/well-behaved group. This is all deeply ironic as he later went on to spend nine years working at the BBC.
After a few years of working as a bookseller in Scotland, ("Back when it was actually a skilled profession" he'll tell anyone still listening), he moved to England for reasons he can't quite explain adequately to himself. After a couple of publishing jobs punctuated by sporadic bursts of travelling and photography came the aforementioned nine years at the BBC where he specialised in internet technologies and video.
These days his primary interests are Java, Linux, videogames and pies - and if they're not candidates for convergence, then what is?
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