The Copyright Alliance is distributing a petition targeting brands that...
The Copyright Alliance is distributing a petition targeting brands that advertise on websites alleged to facilitate copyright infringement. The open letter to CEOs of such brands says their advertising on those sites harms “independent artists and small businesses” and “encourages…
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others to exploit our work for economic gain without a return to us. It deprives us of the opportunity to build communities with fans when they visit illegal sites to obtain our work, rather than our sites. It also gives consumers a false sense of security by lending an air of legitimacy to these sites. And, it rewards activities that are illegal.” The signatories understand “it can be difficult to know” where ads for the companies’ brands can end up because of online advertising’s complexity, but it “damages your own brands by association,” they said. Linking to a Los Angeles Times article (http://lat.ms/Z38q64), the letter said it “appears that other companies make ad buys in ways that don’t result in their brands being tarnished and our work being exploited.” The article said jeans-maker Levi’s directed its ad agency to remove ads from such sites only after being notified by Jonathan Taplin, director of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Innovation Lab. The lab released a report in January citing Google and Yahoo among the top 10 ad networks that support pirate sites. Brand CEOs should “employ high-quality control standards and ... demand the same from the ad networks you use,” by adopting practices like those devised by the Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising Agencies and Interactive Advertising Bureau, the letter said. “According to research and documentation by artists working in tandem with this project,” it said, linking to a post by The Trichodist blog (http://bit.ly/VJtakf), “your companies have been identified as brands that repeatedly advertise on infringing websites.” It asks the CEOs to sign a pledge (http://bit.ly/12hg0l1): “I support the rights of artists, creators and innovators to be compensated for the fruits of their labor. I run my business ethically, and value my brand. I pledge not to advertise on sites which illegally exploit the work of creators without their permission.” As of Friday afternoon the petition had more than 3,200 signatures. The letter was to be sent to the CEOs and marketing directors of dozens of companies, including Adobe, Amazon, AT&T, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, “DirectTV,” Dish Network, eBay, Electronic Arts, “Google Chrome,” Hewlett-Packard, Kayak, LG Electronics, Netflix, Register.com, Skype, TuneCore and Yahoo. A spokeswoman for the alliance confirmed it first started distributing the petition with a Feb. 19 tweet. The letter will be sent to brands sometime in March, she said.