Following their fourth meeting at the MBC office in Dubai, the MENA Broadcast Satellite Anti-Piracy Coalition has agreed upon a formal policy for identifying and tackling infringing channels. The members, which include broadcasters, content owners, satellite providers/distributors and legal bodies, have also pledged a commitment to information sharing in order that legal cases can be constructed against […]

Following their fourth meeting at the MBC office in Dubai, the MENA Broadcast Satellite Anti-Piracy Coalition has agreed upon a formal policy for identifying and tackling infringing channels.
The members, which include broadcasters, content owners, satellite providers/distributors and legal bodies, have also pledged a commitment to information sharing in order that legal cases can be constructed against such infringing channels.
Representatives from each of the major Hollywood Studios were in attendance along with the MPA, which safeguards the intellectual property rights of Studio feature films in the region, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Each reaffirmed their commitment to fighting piracy and are actively pursuing legal action.
There are currently over 60 channels pirating content across all genres including prominent Arabic movies and series. These breaches equate to losses of millions of dollars each year and threaten the future health and growth of the entire sector.
Hanya Atallah, Copyright Management Manager at Arab Media Corporation, expressed her concern stating that: In the last four months alone another 22 channels, which steal Arabic content on a daily basis, have emerged. It is a constant battle but we continue to progress and have already successfully taken down several channels via police raids.
The Coalition will also soon launch a website to publish its governing policies, infringement history and active infringing channels.
Members who were in attendance at the meeting on Monday (9th March, 2015) were from Arabsat, ART, DU, Eagle Films, Egyptian Media Production City, Eutelsat, Fox, Gulfsat, IAA, JMC, MBC, MediaGates, MPA, Nilesat, Noorsat, OSN, Paramount, Rotana, Sony, Universal, US Department of Commerce, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Brothers and WWE.
The next meeting is scheduled for next month in Cairo.