AfterDawn: News

Summer Redstone loves copyright protection

Summer Redstone, the executive chairman of both Viacom and CBS has made remarks in the keynote speech to the Seoul Digital Forum 2008, in which he notes that "attitudes toward protecting entertainment copyrights internationally" are thankfully improving and he sees the glowing benefits of copyright protection.

"I am increasingly preaching to the converted in piracy-prone markets around the world," Redstone said. "Governments in China and India are starting to take an active interest in enforcing copyright, if only to protect their own homegrown content," he added.

Redstone then cited that China was looking to safeguard content it will be producing for the upcoming Olympic Games and that India was increasingly looking to protect its Bollywood film industry.



Redstone also added that film piracy costs the US economy at least $20 billion USD every year. Viacom, the giant corporation, owns Paramount Pictures, MTV and Comedy Central among others and is controlled by Redstone.

During a Q&A after his speech, Redstone even called YouTube a haven for piracy.

"We cannot tolerate any form of piracy by anyone, including YouTube," he said.

Last year, Viacom sued YouTube seeking over $1 billion USD claiming that the site was full of copyrighted videos from Viacom shows and movies.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 7 May 2008 13:36

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• 5 comments

• redux79

  Quote:During a Q&A after his speech, Redstone even called YouTube a haven for piracy.
  Ok sure youtube has copyrighted material but it’s almost always of crap quality/low resolution. If I happen to miss an episode of one my shows ill just check youtube in day or two to see if it's been uploaded yet.
  
  The creators of south park know this and that’s why they made southparkstudios.com. The few dozen episodes of south park that had been uploaded to youtube were left up and linked you strait to the south park site. You can watch any episode for free with two or three short add spots. It seems comedy central caught on to this recently and mandated that the shows from this most recent season have a one month delay from the airing date (how that benefits them I don't know).
  
  Quote:Redstone then cited that China was looking to safeguard content it will be producing for the upcoming Olympic Games and that India was increasingly looking to protect its Bollywood film industry.
  First off I don't know anyone who actually watches the olympics never mind pay money to see it or even bother to pirate it.
  
  Almost everything in asia is pirated one way or another. There's food shortages around the world and this Redstone A-hole "sees the glowing benefits of copyright protection". I can understand trying to bludgeon america, europe, and australia with drm... but this guy is gallivanting through the third world making money spinning BS about drm. No drm is perfect it will always eventually be broken. In asia where piracy is rampant it’s the boot leggers that will break it and the cost will be passed on to the stores that sell boot legged copies as legit. Yes stores, not carts on the side of the road and the consumer inevitably pays more while the only people making more money are A-holes like that summer redstone prick, hence nothing changes except the size of they’re already bloated bank accounts.
  
  Drm peddlers are the corporate equivalent of drug dealers, the customers never get the right "fix" and they always come back for more.

  7.5.2008 19:05 #1

• iluvendo

  Quote:Quote:During a Q&A after his speech, Redstone even called YouTube a haven for piracy.
  Ok sure youtube has copyrighted material but it’s almost always of crap quality/low resolution. If I happen to miss an episode of one my shows ill just check youtube in day or two to see if it's been uploaded yet.
  
  The creators of south park know this and that’s why they made southparkstudios.com. The few dozen episodes of south park that had been uploaded to youtube were left up and linked you strait to the south park site. You can watch any episode for free with two or three short add spots. It seems comedy central caught on to this recently and mandated that the shows from this most recent season have a one month delay from the airing date (how that benefits them I don't know).
  
  Quote:Redstone then cited that China was looking to safeguard content it will be producing for the upcoming Olympic Games and that India was increasingly looking to protect its Bollywood film industry.
  First off I don't know anyone who actually watches the olympics never mind pay money to see it or even bother to pirate it.
  
  Almost everything in asia is pirated one way or another. There's food shortages around the world and this Redstone A-hole "sees the glowing benefits of copyright protection". I can understand trying to bludgeon america, europe, and australia with drm... but this guy is gallivanting through the third world making money spinning BS about drm. No drm is perfect it will always eventually be broken. In asia where piracy is rampant it’s the boot leggers that will break it and the cost will be passed on to the stores that sell boot legged copies as legit. Yes stores, not carts on the side of the road and the consumer inevitably pays more while the only people making more money are A-holes like that summer redstone prick, hence nothing changes except the size of they’re already bloated bank accounts.
  
  Quote:Drm peddlers are the corporate equivalent of drug dealers, the customers never get the right "fix" and they always come back for more.
  Truth !

  7.5.2008 19:10 #2

• mspurloc

  Somebody should've dragged this decrepit, useless old fart out into the street and shotgunned him in the eyes a long time ago.

  8.5.2008 02:04 #3

• nobrainer

  Originally posted by mspurloc: Somebody should've dragged this decrepit, useless old fart out into the street and shotgunned him in the eyes a long time ago.They want to get paid every time anyone sees their material and with the pro-ip act going through atm piracy rhetoric and false numbers are going to be heard at every opportunity.
  
  just w8 until blu-ray drm is fully utilised with phone home authorisation films!
  
  

  The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
  The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above!
  The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.
  

  8.5.2008 02:40 #4

• ikari

  Quote:
  It seems comedy central caught on to this recently and mandated that the shows from this most recent season have a one month delay from the airing date (how that benefits them I don't know).
  
  @redux79 - It could be so they can properly monitor viewer ratings? Or so it doesn't chew up a lot of bandwidth from people that don't have cable and want to watch the episode. Those would be my guesses.
  
  Quote:"I am increasingly preaching to the converted in piracy-prone markets around the world," Redstone said. "Governments in China and India are starting to take an active interest in enforcing copyright, if only to protect their own homegrown content," he added. Errr....governments that turn a blind eye to pirates/boot leggers want to now protect their own content. Wow, really???? I swear, are people starting to become idiots or were they this way to begin with??

  8.5.2008 16:50 #5