ISPs, Web sites must tackle piracy, says CBS, Viacom chief

ISPs, Web site operators and manufacturers of devices that are used by some to pirate content should play a part in stamping out that piracy, Sumner Redstone, chairman and controlling shareholder of both Viacom and CBS, said on Tuesday.

"It is obviously impossible to check every computer or look over the shoulder of every user around the world to see whether they have a license to use our content – and we don’t want to do that," said Redstone in a keynote address to the Seoul Digital Forum, which was monitored by Web cast in Tokyo. "So solutions turn on enlisting the aggregators -- ISPs, device manufacturers, hosting companies, and site operators -- in this effort. We're not ask for perfection. But we do ask that companies that become aware of piracy using their facilities, do something about it."

Redstone, who was on his first visit to South Korea, spent about one third of his keynote address at the event speaking about piracy and the damage it does to companies like his own.

"When you can instantly and easily download a high-quality, feature length film for free – with no repercussions -- the incentive to purchase it quickly evaporates," he said. "If this sort of theft is allowed to continue unabated, the incentive to create programming will disappear."

While battling piracy content providers need to continue forging on into new media markets and utilizing new distribution methods to reach consumers, he said.

"Media companies, in turn, need to make it easy for consumers to obtain our content in a legal manner," said Redstone. "We cannot let the lack of perfect antipiracy tools keep us from forging ahead in providing the best, most innovative, creative content to the consumer over whatever medium they prefer…. whenever and wherever they prefer it."

Content providers like Redstone's CBS and Viacom have been battling online piracy of movies and TV shows for several years.

First efforts involved a string of high-profile lawsuits against individual Internet users but with so many people participating in file sharing and other forms of piracy the target of actions switched to site operators.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.