Spain's anti piracy law could entice US companies into the country

Spain has long been known to have a high rate of copyright violations, with as high as 80 percent of copyrighted content being obtained illegally.  A new law is looking close down websites which provide copyrighted material.  If the law is effective, it could mean more companies (both US and Spanish) showing an interest in the region.

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The "Sinde Law", named after Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde the cultural minister of Spain, aims to close down copyright infringing websites or potentially force them to go legitimate.  Sinde is hoping this will entice companies to bring their business to Spain and create potential jobs in the country as well.  The United States supports the law, most likely looking at it as an opportunity to expand the sales of the content provided by US companies.  The theory is that if piracy drops in Spain, then sales of DVDs and music would rise as a result.

A number of companies like Netflix are looking to provide websites for books, music, and movies once the law is in place and proven to be effective.  Without an effective law being in place all these companies stand to do is lose money in a country where piracy is king.

While it all sounds like a perfect situation, Sinde's law is facing opposition.  Copyright owners claim the law is too lenient but Internet companies claim it's far too strict.  Alex de la Iglesia, Spain's film academy director resigned this year in protest of the law.

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According to data provided by copyright association EGEDA, Spanish movie theaters are selling about 100 million tickets per year, compared to 400 million movies which are being acquired illegally.  It's clear from data like that, something must be done or companies won't be jumping to provide content anytime in that country in the near future.

It would be lovely to believe one law would bolster companies looking to sell their content online and provide more jobs in Spain.  The country is definitely in the throws of a recession and more jobs and industry would be a major help.  The truth is, without widespread support, the chances of this law fixing all of Spain's problems are looking very slim.

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