The studio and ISP-backed Copyright Alert System (CAS) issued 1.3 million alerts in its first 10 months following a February 2013 launch, with only 265 challenges and no findings of "false positives." That is a according to a just-released report, “Phase One and Beyond" from the Center for Copyright Information (CCI).
"We believe that our internal and external research into the impact of the CAS shows great promise in our ability to ‘move the needle’ of user behavior in the U.S. away from copyright infringement and toward the use of the many legal sources of content available in today’s digital marketplace," said CCI.
Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Verizon Communications and Cablevision Systems are all participants in the program, sending alerts to subscribers suspected of illegally sharing or downloading copyrighted content. The alerts are meant to educate rather than punish and were developed with input from consumer advocacy groups as well as representatives of the music and video industries.
“While it is still in its early stages, the results thus far are encouraging and the program is beginning to see positive results," said Motion Picture Association of America chairman Chris Dodd in a blog post. "The program will be doubled in 2014 and we look forward to further success in the coming year."
Dodd suggested the program is crucial for start-ups in the online video space.
"Every day now we hear about new initiatives by the movie and TV industry and a wide range of other creative industries to provide content online in easily accessible and affordable ways, including over 100 sites for viewing legitimate online content in the United States. (see WheretoWatch.org) Many of these efforts are being launched through start-up investments in new technologies matched with increasingly innovative ways of marketing creative content. For them to be successful, it is crucial that efforts to steal their digital creations, and pirate and counterfeit their online merchandise be fought by all the players involved in the online ecosystem."
