UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Content protection and security may be a year-round endeavor for major studios and production companies, but bringing a sharper focus to its importance — elevating awareness across all business units and service provider partners — can only benefit the industry as a whole.
That was the thinking behind the Content Delivery & Security Association’s (CDSA) launch of the inaugural Content Protection Month in October, a coordinated, industrywide initiative designed to encourage everyone involved content creation to personally embrace content protection and security. The annual campaign is held in conjunction with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which has been held every October since 2004.
The results of the first Content Protection Month were shared Dec. 4 at CDSA’s 10th annual Content Protection Summit (CPS), with CDSA member companies — including Amazon Studios, Paramount Pictures, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate — all hosting their own unique Content Protection Day, each tailored to reflect their company’s specific goals and corporate culture. NBCUniversal has been at the forefront, having grown their internal Content Protection Day into a full week of events, held in Los Angeles, London, Philadelphia and Miami.
Overall, the events are geared toward helping studios defend against unauthorized access to their intellectual property by empowering employees to better understand risks, processes and protocols.
At CPS, Bob Gold, president of Bob Gold & Associates — which coordinates planning of Content Protection Days with CDSA members — shared that more than a dozen media outlets picked up the news of the inaugural Content Protection Month, with an estimated 7,680 unique readers.
“In this new platinum age of production, the entertainment industry is creating more content than ever, resulting in a huge influx of people who touch content in various forms and at various times during its creation and distribution across all formats,” said CDSA president Guy Finley, when the initiative launched.
In 2020, CDSA aims to keep the Content Protection Month momentum going, by incorporating the ideals behind April’s World Intellectual Property Day, and by sharing ideas for Content Protection Days at CDSA CPS events in Barcelona (Mobile World Congress), Las Vegas (NAB Show), New York and Los Angeles.
For more information about Content Protection Month, click here.