ELSPA Praises UK Leader's Copyright Stance

The Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association has applauded remarks made by Conservative Party Leader David Cameron addressing the challenges of copyright theft in the UK and calling for a more robust intellectual property framework. Speaking yesterday during the AGM of the British Recorded Music Industry, Cameron said that copyright theft in the UK takes place on a massive scale and is a major detriment to IP investment, innovation and creativity. He also noted that more effort should be put towards educating the public on the ills of copyright theft in order to change perceptions, adding that money gained from piracy is often channeled towards funding organized crime. “IP theft in the creative industries and in games costs billions of pounds every year,” responded ELSPA managing director Michael Rawlinson. “David Cameron’s comments to the BPI are welcome as we believe more needs to be done to protect creative industries.” He added: “At ELSPA we already pour a great deal of resource into fighting piracy, but we can do a great deal more, particularly in educating people. We would welcome the chance to sit down with political stakeholders to ensure we have a longer term strategy of educating younger people about the impact of piracy and copyright theft.”