Time to stop the pirates holding us to ransom!

At the Westin, Mina Seyahi on 7th April, the MENA Anti-Piracy Conference will be playing a more critical role than ever in the ongoing fight against broadcast piracy. Make no mistake – this battle is an absolute priority: in 2019, the lawbreakers cost OTT and pay-TV companies around $9.1bn of revenue. As a direct response, the event plays a critical role in clarifying the strategies best-suited to hitting pirates where it hurts most – in their pockets.

Using a vibrant format of interactive panels and presentations, the conference will give a voice to the leading anti-piracy specialists, who will ready to explain the latest and most effective strategies for combatting piracy crime. In assessing the crucial avatars of piracy, it will bring together media houses, the legal fraternity, technology providers, and regulatory and community stakeholders.

The day’s agenda is set to revolve around three important themes –

• Global and Regional perspectives – who is doing what and where are the most dramatic and costly infringements taking place? What are the latest trends and developments and where do we need to focus?
• Ask the Law – many pirates hide behind ‘grey’ areas of the law, or create a series of false trails and pseudo-corporates to elude detection and justice. Is the law doing enough and if not, why not?
• The Technology of Protection – many recent advances are playing a powerful role in herding pirates away from previously lucrative channels. So how can broadcasters best implement these solutions and make sure that the ‘enemy’ isn’t within their own organisations?
• Among the raft of pressing developments urgently needing solutions, the MENA Anti-Piracy Conference provides a cogent and transparent platform for discussion. For example, why aren’t Sports content owners and studios more proactive in fighting piracy once they have sold their content to a licensee? How proactively do Associations go after pirates? What intellectual property protection issues are covered by regional and global laws and how can the two work together across national borders?

The conference is set to be a must-attend event for everyone looking to make a real, credible and lasting contribution to the fight against piracy.