A report has found that some straightforward steps to tackle film piracy would increase UK economic output by £614 million and protect the jobs of many thousands of people employed in the film industry, as well as creating some 7,900 jobs in the wider economy.

‘Great Expectations: A report on the economic opportunities for the UK film sector,’ published by Oxford Economics and commissioned by Respect for Film, shows that a series of legislative changes would bring extra gross revenues of £268m to the audio-visual industry, £310m in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be generated across the entire UK economy, while £155m would be generated in added revenue to the Exchequer.

The audio-visual sector currently loses about £531m in the UK each year from the direct impact of cannibalisation of revenues due to copyright theft, equating to a total economic loss to the economy of £1.222 billion. This is felt right through the industry, from cinema, video, television – including cable and satellite – and legal Internet services.

At a time when the UK government is working towards universal access to broadband services and is looking to the audio-visual sector to invest in the production of new and original content, Britain’s creative community are seeking reassurance that their copyright will be properly protected, so that they can play their part in promoting demand for broadband through compelling content.

The report considers how increased broadband access could stimulate the growth of digital copyright theft and underscores the need for additional effective anti-piracy measures to ensure a corresponding increase in benefit to the UK economy, consumers and government.

The current recession is posing difficulties for all parts of the economy and the creative sector is no exception. The film industry is not asking for money from the Government, however; it simply wants the Government to prioritise and enforce a series of measures and legislative changes to tackle copyright theft, including:

– Making camcording illegal in cinemas
– Regulating car boot sales and other markets
– Introducing legislation to tackle illegal file sharing in the long term
– Creating an effective damages regime

The report finds that, implemented together, the measures would deliver the following economic benefits direct to industry:

– Camcording: £26.1m
– Regulation of markets: £6.3m
– Digital copyright theft: £141.7m
– Reduction in secondary piracy: £94.0m

Andrew Tessler from Oxford Economics said: “We’ve been very cautious in our assumptions in today’s report, but it demonstrates that the measures industry has been asking for would benefit the audio-visual sector by £268m in gross revenue terms. The broader economy would enjoy GDP growth of £310m while the Treasury would gain £155m in tax revenues.”

Story filed 19.03.09