ACE’s Action Is Welcomed by Polish Creative Sector
WARSAW, Poland, Dec. 21, 2021 – The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the leading global coalition dedicated to reducing digital piracy and protecting the creative ecosystem, today reached an agreement with the owner of the illegal Alltube.pl piracy portal to transfer control of the site and the domains to ACE.
This agreement follows a legal action against Alltube last February whereby the Warsaw Circuit Court recognized the illegal nature of the site. Adhering to principles confirmed by the European Union Court of Justice in various copyright cases, the court said:
“The actions of Alltube, which consisted of providing Internet users with links to the works, should be qualified as infringement of law. That infringement consists of communicating the links to the public, which constitutes an unauthorised exploitation of the works.”
The Alltube site shut down earlier this year; ACE now has obtained control of its domain and other domains related to the pirate service, all of which redirect visitors to the Watch Legally section of the ACE website.
“ACE is committed to protecting the legitimate streaming market and reducing piracy because the theft of online content is the single greatest threat to the global creative community,” said Jan van Voorn, Executive Vice President and Chief of Global Content Protection for the Motion Picture Association and head of ACE. “The operators of Alltube and similar services threaten the rights and livelihoods of the millions of people who work in the audiovisual sector and mislead consumers about the legitimacy of their services.”
ACE’s actions against Alltube.pl was welcomed by The Polish Film Distributors Association, representing the interests of all film distributors in Poland.
Andrzej Łudziński said, “As President of the Film Distributors Association in Poland, I know that piracy is an ongoing threat to all the people who work in the film sector. I welcome this action, which also benefits the Polish film industry as sites such as Alltube.pl also pirate our content. It is important that there is a concerted effort to protect the Intellectual Property Rights and to fight illegal sharing of copyright-protected content on Internet platforms.”
CANAL+ Group, a member of ACE, and CANAL+ Poland, a key player in the Polish market both in terms of distribution and production of high-quality entertainment, also welcomed the action.
“CANAL+ Group works tirelessly to protect our content around the world and understands the importance of Poland in that global strategy,” said Jakub Kupniewski, Director for Content Protection and Cyber Security at CANAL+ Poland. “The shutdown of Alltube is a critical step in preserving the creative ecosystem, and we thank ACE for their leadership in this action.”
The theft of online content harms both local and foreign films and businesses, threatens jobs, undermines investment, reduces tax revenue to governments, and stifles creativity. 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 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. For more information, please visit www.alliance4creativity.com.
About CANAL+ Group
CANAL+ Group is a leading media company and pay-TV operator. It is also a leading player in free-to-air television with three national channels, C8, CSTAR and CNEWS, and an ads sales agency. CANAL+ Group has a wide international footprint with a presence in Europe, Africa and Asia. CANAL+ Group totals 22.1 million subscribers worldwide, including 8.9 million in mainland France. With STUDIOCANAL, CANAL+ Group is also a European leader in the production, acquisition and distribution of feature films and TV series. CANAL+ Group is wholly-owned by worldwide integrated content, media and communication group, Vivendi.
About CANAL+ Poland
CANAL+ Polska, part of CANAL+ Group, is a leading producer of premium and thematic channels, offering a unique combination of premium content, modern technology and broad distribution. With approximately 2.7 million clients as at 31 December 2020, it is the second largest distributor of pay-TV packages in Poland with a traditional Polish pay-TV market share of 20.4%.
About The Polish Film Distributors Association
The Polish Film Distributors Association is a trade association which, for decades, has represented interest of distributors of Polish and foreign films. Members of the Association are also engaged in motion picture financing and production in Poland, as well as in other market initiatives. In this capacity, the Association has, on numerous occasions, represented this branch of audiovisual sector in legislative consultations, as well presented its position on the most vital issues for the industry. Protection of intellectual property rights lies at the heart of the Association values and special emphasis on this vital aspect is put in its activity.
Media Contacts:
ACE
Kristen Tarnol – VP Communications
kristen_tarnol@motionpictures.org
CANAL+ Group
Elvire Charbonnel – Communication Department
elvire.charbonnel@canal-plus.com
CANAL+ Poland
Piotr Kaniowski – Communication Department
The Polish Film Distributors Association
Andrzej Łudziński – President
andrzej.ludzinski@galapagos.com.pl
