Education

The Motion Picture Association is taking a multi-pronged approach to fighting piracy and, as such, conducts education outreach programs. An important part of our mission and responsibility is to help educate parents, students, teachers - consumers of all ages and walks of life - about the importance of intellectual property rights, the reasons piracy is wrong, and the consequences of breaking the law.

On Campus

College campuses today harbour some of the swiftest computer networks in the country and that, unfortunately, has led to a situation where a significant level of piracy is taking place around the clock. In the Asia-Pacific region, the MPA is focused on targeted educational outreach, in particular aimed at university students, delivering messages that piracy negatively impacts people, businesses and national economies, and that intellectual property is incredibly valuable to those same groups.

Schools and parents are in the best position to inform students of the importance of respecting copyright and valuing the creative effort invested in copyrighted works. Further, as distributors, guardians and owners of intellectual property themselves, schools have a huge incentive (and responsibility) to instil in their students such respect and values.

The following are some steps schools can take toward educating students about illegal file-sharing and copyright infringement generally:

• Institute “acceptable use” policies that clearly outline the appropriate use of school resources. Such policies should illustrate unacceptable behavior, including illegal file-sharing,    and provide details on penalties imposed for failure to abide by such regulations comprehensive policy, however, is only as useful as it is accessible; administrations should  ensure that students (and others) are able to find these policies on the school website and elsewhere.
• Include information on copyright, piracy, and illegal file-sharing in orientation materials.
• Inform parents, through letters and at orientation, of the seriousness of copyright infringement and the penalties imposed, both legally and academically, for violations.  Encourage them to discuss the risks with their children.
• Require students to pass a quiz about P2P file-sharing and piracy before allowing access to the school’s computing network. This educates the student and provides documentation negating any claim of lack of awareness.
• Engage students by incorporating discussion of illegal file-sharing on school websites, and in papers and classrooms.
• Launch pervasive and visible anti-piracy campaigns using posters, brochures, banners, videos, fliers, etc.
• Send periodic e-mails directly from the Headmaster/Principal to remind students that the school takes copyright infringement very seriously and to indicate the seriousness of any offense.