ABU helps broadcasters draw up anti-piracy plans

Experts from Southeast Asian broadcasters are developing content protection plans to stave off piracy of their programs in digital format.

Some 27 delegates from ASEAN nations gathered on 2-3 June 2014 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei for a workshop on Digital Television Content Protection.

This workshop, hosted by Radio Television Brunei and supported by the ABU looked at the nature of copyright in broadcasts and assessed the range of responses available to combat piracy. Delegates then developed their own Content Protection Plan.

Australian Media Lawyer and Media Development Adviser Dr Murray Green led the workshop, which he said was aimed at combatting the growing threat of copyright infringement of content in the switch from analogue to digital programming.

“Digital content allows for perfect copies to be made that, unlike analogue formats, do not degrade in quality no matter how many copies are produced,” he said. “Whatever appears on a digital television screen can be transferred to the Internet. The problem of content and signal piracy is therefore heightened.”

He told the workshop that as well as protecting their own programs from piracy, it was important for each television network to internally promote compliance with copyright, including only using licensed software and rights payments to local musicians and performers.

“Only then can networks promote public awareness of copyright and its infringement,” he said.

The workshop was supported by the ABU Copyright Committee and drew participants from Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei.