The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) remains unpopular among many Internet users, but still plans to battle piracy using a variety of different methods.
The MPAA and RIAA are both finding ways to battle online piracy, though have only recently started using the same tactics. The RIAA elected to target pirates head on by settling out of court with a minute number of file sharers, while the MPAA instead chose to work in the shadows.
The MPAA still has a confusing road to navigate, but is not ready to stop until it is able to better police online file sharing -- and help create stiffer penalties against copyright infringement.
"We will do whatever we can to discourage illegal accessing of our motion pictures," said Fritz Attaway, MPAA Executive VP and Special Policy Advisor, during a recent interview. "We have no illusions that we will be 100 percent successful. Piracy has always been and will always be with us. Our goal is to keep it under a reasonable level of control where we can make enough revenue in a legitimate market to recoup expenses and continue to make new movies. And I am very optimistic that we will be able to do that."
Most recently, the MPAA's support for the ACTA treaty designed to bring nations together against piracy and counterfeiting shows its long-term strategy. The group will continue to rely on lawmakers to help create new legislation, while the group sits back and spends money lobbying for additional legislation.
Meanwhile, the MPAA will continue to be under siege from heavy public criticism and hackers looking to publicly humiliate the group. Internet users will continue to despise most of the MPAA's decisions, while the group looks for new business models Internet users can embrace. Online services and streaming content into the living room are growing markets that the MPAA is still trying to handle carefully.
