25/10/2007

The results of the 3rd annual study on pirated films available on Internet, released yesterday by the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) and ALPA (Association de Lutte contre la Piraterie Audiovisuelle), shows that video is more endangered than cinema and French films are much more spared than US productions

The non-exhaustive survey – which measured pirated files available on the Peer to Peer networks in 2006 – listed 427 pirated films in French version (142 French, 206 US and 79 of other nationalities) and revealed that 40.5% of films released theatrically in 2006 are available on the Internet in French version a year after their release (compared to 37.9% in 2005 and 36.4% in 2004). However, only 28.9% of French films released in theatres during the period are pirate versions compared to 68.9% of US films.

While piracy of French films before their theatrical release did not exist in 2006, the trend concerns 59% of US features. On average, a pirated French film is available four months and ten days after its release in French cinemas, while US productions in French version are available 16 days before theatrical release. This confirms the major impact of piracy on the video market: in 2006, 93.6% of pirated films and already released theatrically were available on Peer to Peer before their DVD release in France (91.8% in 2005).

As regards the sources of piracy, recordings in theatres represent 24.2% of pirated files, but remain marginal in France (2% of pirated sources of French films compared to 4.2% in 2005 and 8.8% in 2004) compared to the North American continent (25.3% of pirated sources compared to 16.7% in 2005). In a similar vein, the Téléciné (a professional pirated copy from the digitalisation of the film stock), which concern 5.4% of files (compared to 0.8% in 2004), represents only 1.0% of pirated sources of French films (5.4% in 2005), compared to 7.9% for US features.

(Translated from French)