Motion Picture Association Receives Spanish National Police Merit Cross with Distinction for Content Protection Efforts
MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin Accepts Highest Law Enforcement Decoration Bestowed on a Civilian, Honoring the MPA’s Efforts to Combat Digital Piracy
MADRID – Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin today accepted the Distinguished Cross of the Police Merit with Distinction from Francisco Pardo Piqueras, General Director of the Spanish National Police. Rivkin received the honor, which is the highest awarded by the Spanish National Police to a civilian, in recognition of the work the MPA and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) have done to fight piracy and protect intellectual property rights.
Reinforced by the content protection operations of the MPA, ACE is the world’s leading online anti-piracy coalition, dedicated to protecting the creativity and innovation that drive the growth of core copyright and entertainment industries.
“We are deeply grateful to the General Director for his leadership and to the Spanish National Police, for their commitment and partnership in the fight to reduce piracy,” said Rivkin, who also serves as Chairman of ACE. “Together we have assembled an extraordinary team to tackle this important issue, which continues to be a threat to the global audiovisual community, harming both local and foreign films and businesses, threatening jobs, undermining investment, and stifling creativity.”
The MPA and ACE have worked for several years with the Spanish National Police to successfully carry out significant operations in Spain and around the world.
Recent operations include an action in March 2020, carried out in coordination with ACE, which dismantled an illegal broadcasting infrastructure of audiovisual content that had more than 100,000,000 downloads, through the ‘Mobdro’ application. According to the Police, had the operation continued it would have produced an illicit profit of more than 15 million euros. In June 2020, ACE cooperated with the National Police, EUROPOL and EUROJUST in another unprecedented operation that dismantled a network that illegally distributed audiovisual content. The illicit network served more than two million users worldwide.
The theft of online content harms both local and foreign films and businesses, threatens jobs, undermines investment, reduces tax contributions to governments, and stifles creativity.
“When we arrest individuals or take down illegal sites, we don’t just curb piracy, we protect jobs in Spain and around the world,” Rivkin said. “By preserving those jobs, we make it possible to keep making the movies and television shows that we love, and we continue to create an environment where consumers can enjoy their art and their entertainment in safe and legal ways.”
With its “all-of-the-above” approach to reducing piracy, ACE’s legal and operational toolkit includes criminal referrals, litigation, and direct communications among other tactics.
# # #
About The Motion Picture Association
The Motion Picture Association, Inc. (MPA) serves as the global voice and advocate of the motion picture, home video, and television industries. It works in every major market around the world to advance the creative industry, protect its members’ content across all screens, defend the creative and artistic freedoms of storytellers, and support innovative distribution models that bring an expansion of viewing choices to audiences around the world.
Its member studios are: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Netflix, Inc.; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Charles H. Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.
About The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation and cease-and-desist operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and sources of unauthorized content and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of all members and reinforced by the content protection operations of the Motion Picture Association, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drive the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board members for ACE are: Amazon, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, ViacomCBS, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros. Charles Rivkin is Chairman of ACE and the Motion Picture Association.
Contacts:
Kristen Tarnol
MPA
US – English
kristen_tarnol@motionpictures.org
Fulgencio Spá
LLYC
Spain – Spanish
fspa@llorenteycuenca.com