May 13, 2009
LOS ANGELES – The Directors Guild of America today applauded the passage of France's "Creation and Internet" law by the French Legislature.
"The Directors Guild of America believes the passage of the 'Creation and Internet' law in France today is a very important step forward in an international effort to protect intellectual property. The works filmmakers create reflect and illuminate all of our cultures; to protect the copyright of those works is to protect both our history and our future," said DGA President Michael Apted. "We believe this legislation offers a unique model for defeating the rapidly-growing problem of Internet piracy, and we wholeheartedly congratulate our French colleagues and the thousands of creative artists in France who, with a great unity of spirit and intent, stood up for the rights of the content creators by supporting this bill. Their actions set a precedent for the rest of us."
The anti-piracy measure seeks to combat the growing problem of digital piracy through an education and warning system that would ultimately result in a temporary discontinuation of Internet service for those people who repeatedly upload or download content illegally.
The French anti-piracy measure will be implemented through an independent administrative authority that will serve as an intermediary between content providers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to identify those uploading or downloading content illegally. Once identified, the authority will send violators warnings on each of the first two violations in an effort to educate and convince the violator of the gravity and illegality of copyright violation and digital piracy. Upon the third infraction, Internet access will be cut off by the ISPs for a limited period of time.
On April 25th, the DGA National Board unanimously endorsed a resolution in support of the French legislation.