Software and product piracy, which is extremely widespread, poses serious problems for the games industry and threatens the livelihood of many developers and publishers of computer and video games. Providers of entertainment software use various tools, such as technical copy protection mechanisms or server-based gameplay, to protect creatives’ intellectual property. The damage caused by piracy is still substantial, however, and as broadband internet becomes more pervasive, the problem will only continue to grow in future – unless there is a major shift in the mindset regarding our industry, or new regulations are implemented.
We advocate curtailing piracy by actively participating in the legislative process and providing preventative education to help reduce the financial harm done to the games industry in the medium term. In terms of criminal penalties, we cooperate with the Gesellschaft zur Verfolgung von Urheberrechtsverletzungen e. V. (Society for the Prosecution of Copyright Infringement, GVU), which has supported the authorities investigating and prosecuting copyright infringement in the film and entertainment software industry since 1984. Moreover, we support measures to combat advertising on websites with illegal content.