According to the US Trade Rep Report, the Covid pandemic has caused a dramatic increase in film piracy around the world

Global film piracy has increased dramatically during the Covid pandemic, according to the latest report from the Office of the US Trade Representative.

“The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented increase in online piracy, while at the same time lockdowns and health problems are closing theatres, concert halls and other venues for creative works and forcing people to stay at home,” the report said.

At the start of 2020, film piracy rose by 41% in the United States, 43% in the United Kingdom, 50% in Spain, 62% in India and 66% in Italy, which the report says is “deeply worrying for workers who contributed has to the production of the relevant creative works.”

The full report can be found here.

The report noted that while this boom in pirated films was “an outlier”, worrying trends persist across media sectors. Muso, a data company that measures global piracy, found that visits to pirate websites increased by 21.9% from January to August 2022 compared to the same eight-month period in 2021.

All the industries surveyed in the Muso report – including television, film, publishing, music and software – saw increases in piracy, with pirated traffic growing the most, up 49.1% year-on-year.

“It is clear that global demand for digital media and entertainment content is increasing and that piracy remains a common way to access this content, despite the harm it causes to the employees involved in its creation, ” reads the sales representative’s report.

“Online piracy has real consequences and harms the economic security of workers in the entertainment, media and other creative industries. Digital media piracy can lead to lower incomes and wages across the industry and jeopardize working conditions and job security. Copyright enforcement plays a key role in preventing online piracy. As technological advances and the ubiquity of the Internet enable the rapid and inexpensive reproduction and transfer of digital content, strong copyright protection remains one of the best ways to support workers in the creative industries. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the consumption of digital media around the world and highlighted the importance of preventing online piracy and protecting the livelihoods of workers who rely on IP not only in the United States, but also international.

The report makes it clear that copyright owners are not the only victims of piracy. Workers in the entertainment industry are also disadvantaged. “Online piracy not only harms the US economy as a whole, but also has a major impact on the daily lives of individual employees. The compensation structure of the entertainment industry, where royalties and residual payments make up a significant portion of total wages and benefits, further exacerbates the impact of piracy on employees. As methods of online piracy evolve, efforts to monitor and combat theft of digital content and effective enforcement actions must also require coordination between government and stakeholders on how best to address this problem.