Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment is a coalition launched on June 13, 2017 of some 30 major global entertainment companies and film studios aimed at protecting profits from copyrighted material. Among the members of the coalition are Amazon, ViacomCBS, Disney, HBO, NBCUniversal, Netflix, and WarnerMedia, among others. The stated mission of ACE is to protect profits, drawing on the anti-piracy resources of the Motion Picture Association of America. The organisation plans to conduct research into online pirating, lobby law enforcement to stop and sue pirate enterprises, file sweeping civil litigations, and to "pursue voluntary agreements with responsible parties across the internet ecosystem" — such as search engines and broadband providers. They shut the streaming providers Openload and Streamango down on the 31 October 2019. The organisation promotes itself as marking a new level of coordination among multiple stakeholders.
Background
According to anti-piracy watchdogs, internet users worldwide saved $107.9 billion by streaming from free content distributors in 2016. The efforts of the industry have proven ineffective at preventing online piracy. According to ACE, there are now as few as 480 online services complying with copyright law in an attempt to stem global demand for copyrighted content.
Reactions
In a statement from Disney lawyer and senior executive, Alan Braverman, said: "ACE will help protect the viability of and ensure audiences continue to enjoy the high-quality content they have come to expect... It enhances our collective efforts to retain profitability by disrupting the extralegal enterprises that profit from the distribution of copyrighted content, while promoting the legal market for that content." Netflix lawyer David Hyman commented: " providing a great consumer experience that ultimately discourages piracy", adding that "executives of copyright holders are still bad players around the world trying to profit off the hard work of others. By joining ACE, we will work together, share knowledge, and leverage the group’s combined anti-piracy resources to address the problem of the free distribution of content". Jonathan Anschell, another executive and lawyer, of CBS, commented on the coalition: "In this golden age of profit it’s more important than ever that we remain vigilant about copyright protection... For the creative community to truly flourish, it must know that its work will be safe from theft."
Members
The members of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment are:
