View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2019/02/08/517171.htm
Integro Insurance Brokers, the UK insurance broker and risk management firm, announced it is offering Piracy Protection Insurance for the entertainment industry.
The firm’s Piracy Protection Insurance is designed to return lost revenue to film and TV rights holders and to curtail the damage caused by digital piracy. While the product is offered to worldwide clients, it is a UK-based insurance product, said a company representative.
“For example, we have a client that is a US LLC, which we have insured in the UK to cover copyright infringement that happens using UK IP addresses. The litigation is conducted through UK courts, and judgments can then be conveyed to homestead jurisdictions such as Los Angeles, Calif.,” the representative explained.
Integro said it is the first product of its kind to limit en masse the continued illicit proliferation of digital content online.
The insurance, in the main, covers the adverse cost elements of litigation, managing the end-to-end process with tier one media law firms to recover lost revenue in the form of settlements and damages awarded in court.
Previously, rights holders pursuing defendants through the courts have borne the significant risk of adverse costs themselves, making the process prohibitive without insurer backing, Integro said, noting that rights holders are now benefiting from this tailor-made insurance cover.
The development of Piracy Protection Insurance has been four years in the making, spearheaded by Integro’s Simon Thomson and the media division of Hatton & Berkeley, a London-based consultant.
“Due to the vast and freely accessible digital distribution channels via the internet, piracy of copyrighted material has now reached endemic proportions, losing the creative industry billions of dollars annually,” said Thomson.
“With our key strategic partners in the insurance, finance, law enforcement, and digital arenas, we are proud to have created a bespoke insured model to return lost revenue to the rights holder, and at the same time influence and disrupt digital piracy en masse, whilst upholding the virtues of a free internet,” he added.
“This is a first of its kind product that tackles a real challenge for the film and entertainment industry, and reduces the risk of enforcing actions,” commented Paul Hillier, senior Film/TV broker.
Tim Thornhill, head of UK Sales at Integro Insurance Brokers, said, “Integro is committed to supporting the Film and TV sector, so we are keen to distribute and share any initiative or product that prevents the industry from losing hard-earned revenue, by tackling the illegal streaming and downloading of content.”
Source: Integro Insurance Brokers Ltd.
(Editor’s note: Integro in New York has been purchased by EPIC, while the UK-based operation is now a separate company, remaining branded as Integro. The UK company includes the Entertainment & Sport, Corporate & Private Client, and Wholesale divisions. The wholesale division is branding as Tysers).
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