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4
Societal indicators
Vivendi’s Four “Core” Issues relating to Human Rights
4.1.1.3.
Respect of Intellectual
Property and supporting Artists
Tools deployed and used against piracy in addition
to the support given to public administrations for
the sustenance of artistic creation
GRI
UNGC
OECD
Scope covered
DMA HR MSS
Intellectual
property aspect
1, 2
II, IV
Canal+ Group
UMG (9 focus group
countries)
Respect for intellectual property, a condition of the permanent funding of
artistic creation, is a major issue for Vivendi and its subsidiaries, and is
included in the group’s Data and Content Protection Charter. Subsidiaries
ensure these intellectual property rights are respected, while satisfying
consumers seeking new uses.
In France, Canal+ Group regularly collaborates with the initiatives of
French authority Hadopi to combat piracy and promote the development
of legal content offerings. As part of its risk management policy, the group
is developing plans of action in the areas of innovation and technological
monitoring in order to combat the audiovisual piracy it faces. The group’s
New Content and Industrial Protection departments manage and develop
tools to identify illegal content in order to proceed with its immediate
removal from the main digital platforms (known as the “fast-track”
approach). Canal+ Group also employees digital fingerprint generation
technology to protect its content, including in Africa where fingerprinting
technology is used to identify and sanction smartcards shared illegally
by the administrators of cardsharing pirate networks. Finally, Canal+
Group tasks service providers with the detection and notification of links
facilitating piracy by live streaming of its content.
UMG acts on a number of fronts against piracy often in co-operation
with the rest of the music industry and other players in the entertainment
industry. Industry level action is co-ordinated by global and national
industry associations (such as the IFPI) with whom UMG works very
closely. This action includes dialogue with governments on regulation
and protection of intellectual property (for further information see also
Sections 4.3 and 4.5.2). Raising consumer awareness is a major part
of the efforts against piracy and testament to this are the “Why Music
Matters” and “Playfair” campaigns (see Section 4.1.2.2). On the technical
side UMG uses tools to identify and remove illegal content both directly
and via industry bodies such as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association
of America).
The delivery of compelling musical and audiovisual offerings
(see Sections 4.1.1.1 and 4.1.1.2) is another element of this strategy.
Vivendi’s subsidiaries are at the forefront of these efforts, driving
innovation and in turn facilitating greater investment in artistic creation
over the long term (see opposite).
Innovative strategic partnerships enabling
the broadcast of a large spectrum of artistic creation
GRI
UNGC OECD Scope covered
DMA PR
MSS Content
dissemination aspect 1, 2
II, IV
Canal+ Group
UMG (9 focus group
countries)
For Canal+ Group, digital technologies provide an essential tool
with which to raise the profile of cinema and reach an increasingly
vast and diversified public to satisfy its “thirst” for audiovisual and
cinematographic content. This purpose is served by the strategic
partnerships that Canal+ Group enters into with digital distribution
stakeholders: an example of this is the agreement with Youtube on the
launch of 15 channels that make it possible to broadcast the channel’s
talents and programmes over the Internet; or the partnership between
Studiocanal and Amazon to distribute the studio’s films on the platform
in the United Kingdom and Germany, which has made hundreds of titles,
including works like
Apocalypse Now
and
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
accessible on over 400 devices. In 2014, Studiocanal also signed multi-
year subscription video on demand (SVOD) distribution agreements with
two Chinese operators. The video platform, Youku.com, has acquired
SVOD rights to over 50 major classics including
Chaplin
,
Gouttes d’eau
sur pierres brûlantes
,
Mulholland Dr
. and
The Pianist
. Studiocanal has
also negotiated the distribution of many of its titles via SVOD with
BesTV, a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group, which has some 20 million
subscribers in the country. This type of agreement facilitates Canal+
Group’s capacity to build bridges between cultures.
Partnerships with global brands form part of UMG’s determination to
make its catalogue accessible to all “consumers” beyond borders and
cultural barriers. In 2014, more than 145 partnerships were entered into
by UMG’s dedicated Brands Division, particularly with banks, telecom
operators (see also Section 4.1.3.2) and companies from the electronics
and fast-moving consumer goods sector. These partnerships take the
form of the creation of dedicated services and special operations that
are free to consumers, particularly in emerging markets and in countries
with rapid growth (Africa, India, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin
America) where music is not widely accessible.
A few examples:
p
p
UMG Middle East renewed their partnership with the Coke Studio
television show for the third consecutive year: the show promotes
local artists and international stars;
p
p
the partnership with Turkish Airlines, which provides passengers with
an opportunity to discover the heritage of the city they are flying to
through music playlists and interviews with artists;
p
p
global partnerships with HP, enabling consumers to take part in
private concerts and to access the UMG catalogue via streaming.
UMG also enables artists the world over to be heard in regions where
they have never been distributed before via music bundle deals with local
telecom or brand partnerships with local companies, ensuring that all
consumers are able to enjoy UMG’s diverse catalogue. This contributes
to the discovery of new artists and local repertoire that can be promoted
in the future.
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Non-Financial Indicators Handbook 2014