Briefly in English
General
The Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre (CIAPC), situated in Helsinki, was established in 1979 to fight phonogram piracy. Over the years, CIAPC’s operation has expanded to cover a wide range of the creative industries. In 2004, it became a registered association.
CIAPC is a non-profit association that is financed by its member associations (see below) as well as the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture (http://www.minedu.fi/).
Objectives
CIAPC’s mission is to monitor and improve the general and common interests of its member associations by working against the infringement of their copyrights. Through the centralized surveillance of both the Internet and the physical market, CIAPC aims to prevent copyright infringements such as illegal production and distribution of content.
CIAPC closely follows the domestic and international developments of judicial conditions and legislation. CIAPC drafts proposals and statements, stays in contact with the media, supports Finnish law enforcement agencies and handles actual infringement cases in court.
CIAPC also functions as a general information centre on issues concerning copyright and piracy. Over the years, CIAPC has produced a wide variety of digital and physical educational material for children, youngsters and adults. In addition, CIAPC has over a decade’s worth of experience in organizing wide-ranging awareness campaigns. For example, CIAPC visits, together with a representative from the creative industries, approximately 40 schools all over the country every year.
In short, the objectives of CIAPC can be divided into the following areas:
- taking action against copyright infringements
- spreading objective information on topical issues concerning copyright and piracy
- supporting and training of law enforcement
- offering a copyright helpdesk
- participating in public discussion concerning the application of Copyright Law
- organizing educational campaigns that are aimed especially at children and youngsters
CIAPC co-operates with the anti-piracy programs of international organizations such as IFPI and MPA.
Benefits of the structure
In a relatively small market like Finland, there is no need to have separate anti-piracy organizations for each creative industry. A joint anti-piracy association benefits all parties involved by reducing costs, coordinating more efficient anti-piracy strategies and giving authorities an effective point of contact.
CIAPC represents its member associations that consist of various Finnish rightholder groups in the fields of music, literature and audiovisual industries. Due to the fact that all relevant associations take part in the cooperation, CIAPC is able to represent all the relevant rightholders in copyright infringement cases.