IPA protests to Spain on piracy

The International Publishers Association has written a letter to Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, warning that the country’s new Intellectual Property law is an inadequate response to the threats posed by piracy.
 
In the letter, IPA secretary general Jens Bammel said that IP crime was a huge concern for Spanish publishers, whose sales have been badly affected by the economic crisis. He called for increased efforts to eradicate piracy and illegal copying.
 
Bammel wrote: "The new IP law lacks quick and efficient mechanisms for blocking and taking down illegal websites, portals, cyberlockers and other online threats. As it stands, it will fail to have a meaningful impact on IP piracy."
 
He added: "Spain's publishing industry is an important strategic asset which the government should do everything in its power to protect".
 
Antonio Maria Avila, executive director of the Spanish Publishers Association (Federación de Gremios de Editores de España, FGEE), said that the new IP law had "raised hopes that we would be provided with effective tools to fight piracy. Unfortunately, these hopes have not been met”. He continued: “We urge the Prime Minister to improve the law by giving Spain's IP Commission the resources needed to deal a crushing blow to pirates.”
 
Spain's domestic publishing market saw a year-on-year drop in turnover of approaching 12% in 2013, to a total of €2.18bn, according to the annual survey taken by the FGEE.
 
The Federacion reported that the market has seen a turnover drop of nearly a third (29.8%) over the five years between 2008 and 2013.