New organisation founded to fight online piracy

Media and tech companies create Arts+Labs

1 October 2008 12:27 GMT / By Katie Scott

The battle between peer-2-peer websites and the music and movie industries is hotting up.

The notorious file sharing website, Pirate Bay, is facing bans in Italy, Denmark and Sweden.

Despite a recent vote by the EU, not to adopt a three strikes and you're out policy towards internet users caught downloading material, the EU is expected to take stringent measures.

And now AT&T, Viacom, NBC Universal, Cisco Systems, Microsoft and the Songwriters Guild of America are joined together to create a new group formed specifically to fight online piracy.

Arts+Labs is going to be promoted as a website where web surfers can gets hold of songs, television shows and movies but without resorting to piracy.

It is being touted as unique as it is the first time companies from both the creative industries and tech industries have come together.

The organisation's co-chairman is Mike McCurry, formerly the press secretary to US President Bill Clinton.

He said of the new initiaitve: "It's almost like safe sex. How do we actually help people understand that something that they enjoy doing they need to be thinking about ways in which they can protect themselves and protect others".