Alianza: The audiovisual industry in LatAm has lost more than US$10.3 billion due to piracy

In the first talk of the Miami Intellectual Property Summit, Jorge Bacaloni, president of the Alianza Contra la Piratería Audiovisual (Alliance Against Audiovisual Piracy), noted that the total annual losses from traditional and online piracy represent more than US$10.3 billion for the industry in Latin America, while for the states are more than US$2.15 trillion and more than 75 thousand jobs are lost.

The Alliance was created in 2013 with programmers and pay TV service operators, and now it includes technology companies and sports leagues that have joined to combat audiovisual piracy.

He said that intellectual property regulation in all Latin American countries is outdated and “we have to work on better legal frameworks, train officials and communication.”

He mentioned some of the main achievements of the Alliance in 2023: more than 2,600 apps removed with more than 156 million downloads; more than 22,800 M3U lists removed; more than 1,100 cataloged devices; more than 280 technological cuts (with the support of Anatel in SKS blocking); 19 new regulations; removal request from 43 advertisers on pirate sites with 63% success; agreement with Mercado Libre for the removal of pirate publications and first joint trial with a paid media against pirate services.

Bacaloni also referred to the evolution of the type of pirate signals blocking, highlighting that dynamic blocks are more effective than static ones and that live dynamic blocks are very useful for sports; he mentioned examples of their use in England, Canada, and Uruguay. They are made for specific live sporting events and are changed every five or 10 minutes.

He mentioned that they have made blockade actions in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Argentina.

He highlighted the importance of audiovisual piracy becoming an issue on the international agenda of countries of the OAS Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL).

“Piracy, and especially in soccer, generates irreparable damage. It is imperative to avoid brand building and revenue accumulation by pirates. And avoid affecting users,” Bacaloni emphasized.