Just days after the U.S. Government published a piracy study that pointed out the questionable methods used by some entities to estimate monetary losses from copyright infringement, the RIAA, MPAA and several others are using those same statistics to get a new anti-piracy campaign approved. Details of their Joint Strategic Plan submitted to the US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator have been released, and it makes for an interesting read.
The submission (PDF) starts off citing how the rampant theft of intellectual property is harming the entertainment industry as well as the United States as a whole, and calls for new solutions to make meaningful inroads into the problem. Proposed methods include everything from bandwidth shaping and throttling, to site blocking and even encouraging users to install anti-piracy software on their own machines that would detect and potentially erase infringing content.
Other non-technological solutions include an educational program for online advertisers, financial payment services providers and the general public to spread awareness of how piracy affects the industry. They also suggest customs officials inquire travelers about any infringing content they – willingly or not – are bringing through the border (Like ripped movies on your laptop, the music on your portable player and the book you were reading on the plane).
The document goes on to mention ways of pressuring other countries into toughening up their IP protection laws, and funding new enforcement programs (at the taxpayer's expense) for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to pro-actively prevent the leaking of summer blockbusters ahead of their debut. Of course, this is nothing more than recommendations, but it serves to show how adamant these organizations are in protecting their business model.