Jazzeast

Today, international recording companies welcomed an innovative agreement in France that will fight against the massive Internet music piracy. The agreement provides the planning of an independent government group that will operate the system for warnings, which will lead to the termination or suspension of the Internet subscriptions utilised for illegal sharing of files.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed today in Paris by the music producers, public authorities, audiovisual producers, and internet service providers. It entails concrete undertakings by all the signatories. FNAC chief executive officer Denis Olivennes carried out the agreement at the request of the French Government. It is the result of wide-ranging negotiation in fighting internet piracy and the accessibility of creative content online.

John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive officer of IFPI, the organisation that represents the recording companies worldwide, said, “It was an inspired idea of the President to appoint Denis Olivennes to try and find a solution to these problems. The mission was accomplished speedily, with a minimum of fuss, with proper consultation and most importantly of all, decisively. By ensuring that all parties compromised their positions, Monsieur Olivennes has laid the foundation for a major lasting contribution to French culture and the French economy”.

Under the agreement terms, the access providers must experiment with technologies involved in filtering out infringing content in their networks. The record producers undertook a special effort for interoperability, especially with the music catalogue that was produced in France. The monthly results of the anti-piracy actions will be published by the independent government committee so that the effectivity of the solution can be evaluated.