Just sat through a talk about the importance of IP protection by the Industry Trust. And I was amazed at the level of hypocrisy and misguided opinions about protecting IP from some of the associated companies. There was a lot there that got me very angry and seriously baffled by people’s logic- but the worst offence I felt was coming from the CEA’s Phil Clapp.

Clapp was discussing the need to protect IP content and offer people the ability to view, and know how to reach content ‘legally’. In his talk he was supporting the new £1 million UKFC funded (the quiet re-launching of the UKFC funded multi million pound failure of My Films* platform) Find Any Film site and how great it is that this will allow users to access and locate ‘legal’ platforms for viewing films and help combat piracy. Ironic really when he had this to say about Mum & Dad’s ‘legal’ multi platform release a while ago… (c/o Screen Daily)

In a letter leaked to ScreenDaily, CEA chief executive Phil Clapp says that while the film was “clearly only of at best minor importance” it was still an unacceptable breach of a “point of principle.”

The letter said any attempt to break the 17-week window between theatrical and other releases which remains at the moment the norm, was taken very seriously and called on members not to show the film.”

Why will he not condone the breaking away of release windows to screen a film on LEGAL platforms (which would allow audiences to reach independent content that they are being  denied access to, due to a very limited regional theatrical release) yet still stand up and complain about the need to protect and provide access for people to watch films legally??? 

Seriously… if you’re going to make a young techy savvy demographic have to wait 17 weeks to watch a film- because the exhibitors would rather screen the more financially stable ‘studio releases’ (and now being urged to boycott said film)- then they will find a way to get to it ILLEGALLY. 

And don’t get me started on the sob story of the Bond executive talking about how sad it was that his film was being pirated in a country that it wasn’t yet released in (um synchronised global release windows maybe?). Or how ‘Quantum of Solace’ had been pirated a billion times and therefore they’d lost out on ‘a billion’ sales.

“its all about business, yes there are independents out there… but studios are businesses and we need to protect them or the whole industry will collapse” (I don’t have this quote word for word but this was the general gist)

So yes- sods to the genuine new home grown independent film making talent because their films are ‘clearly only of at best minor importance’ - its the businesses that matter. Cause we need to put a FULL STOP to digital piracy and plug up the holes in the sinking ship before the film industry suffers the same “DAMAGE” that the music industry did! 

*(although the site had its faults the people who ran it where absolutely lovely and very supportive of independent film)