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From the "If we told you we made this up, you'd accuse of being really high" file, today the MPAA is announcing a new program in which it will seek to re-educate the movie-downloading terrorist cells represented by our local Boy Scout troops about the importance of "respecting copyrights," hoping to turn the little knot-tying, merit-badge-hoarding pirates into a beige-clad army of pro-industry good. From the MPAA's press release:

"One of the most important tools we have to fight piracy is education and I commend the Los Angeles area Boy Scouts for working with us to help raise awareness about piracy among their troops in Los Angeles." said Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA. "The film industry is a major contributor to the Los Angeles economy and as such, it is important to protect the economic vitality film brings to L.A. and the state of California. Working with the Boy Scouts of Los Angeles, we have a real opportunity to educate a new generation about how movies are made, why they are valuable, and hopefully change attitudes about intellectual property theft."

It's nice to see that Glickman realizes that these bad seeds are still young and impressionable enough to be reformed; under the Jack Valenti regime, any Scouts suspected of harboring unauthorized movie downloads on their video iPods probably would have been roused from their beds in the middle of the night and summarily executed.

The entire press release is after the jump, and is definitely worth the read:

LOS ANGELES AREA BOY SCOUTS COLLABORATE WITH MPAA TO TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT RESPECTING COYRIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 20, 2006

LOS ANGELES AREA BOY SCOUTS COLLABORATE WITH MPAA TO TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT RESPECTING COYRIGHTS

Los Angeles - The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) today announced a new education program, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Area Boy Scouts of America, to help raise awareness about the value of copyrights among the over 52,000 young people involved in Boy Scout programs in the greater Los Angeles area. The curriculum is part of an ongoing effort to educate kids about copyright protection and change attitudes towards intellectual property theft.

"One of the most important tools we have to fight piracy is education and I commend the Los Angeles area Boy Scouts for working with us to help raise awareness about piracy among their troops in Los Angeles." said Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA. "The film industry is a major contributor to the Los Angeles economy and as such, it is important to protect the economic vitality film brings to L.A. and the state of California. Working with the Boy Scouts of Los Angeles, we have a real opportunity to educate a new generation about how movies are
made, why they are valuable, and hopefully change attitudes about intellectual property theft."

Before the launch of this program in early fall, MPAA worked with the Los Angeles Area Boy Scouts to form a curriculum that met the approval of troop leaders in the greater Los Angeles area. The curriculum is designed to teach participants about copyright theft and various forms of piracy, how to identify counterfeit CDs/DVDs, the consequences of film and music piracy, and why protecting copyrights is important to them and to the local economy. Troops will choose from a number of activities that qualify them to earn a "Respect Copyrights" patch. Activities include creating a public service announcement that demonstrates the importance of copyright protection or visiting a movie studio to learn about the people, time and costs required to make a
movie and others.

The Boy Scouts program is part of a larger MPAA education initiative which includes other efforts to raise awareness among young children and their influencers through programs like Wired Kids and Weekly Reader.


"We are excited to work with the MPAA to provide this new educational opportunity to our more than 52,000 young people who participate in our programs including: Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Venturing and Learning for Life, and are working to expand the program to include all Boy Scout councils within the Southern California area," said Victor Zuniga, Los Angeles Area Council Public Relations Director for the Boy Scouts of America. "The Respect Copyrights patch is a fun way for young kids to learn more about the what goes into making movies while garnering a deep appreciation for creative works and the importance of copyright protection."

The motion picture industry is a thriving economic engine contributing about $38 billion in revenue to the state of California alone. $34 billion of that revenue goes directly to Los Angeles County where the movie industry is the third largest job producer having created more than 246,000 jobs in 2005 alone.

The worldwide motion picture industry, including foreign and domestic producers, distributors, theaters, video stores and pay-per-view operators lost $18.2 billion in 2005 as a result of piracy -over $7 billion of which is attributed to Internet piracy and more than $11 billion attributed to hard goods piracy including bootlegging and illegal copying.

Motion picture piracy hurts not only the motion picture industry, but triggers a harmful domino effect that results in lost jobs and wages for American workers both inside and outside the movie industry and lost tax revenue for all levels of government. According to a recent report by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), losses to the U.S. economy due to movie piracy in 2005 resulted in:

* $5.5 billion in lost annual earnings among U.S workers
* 141,030 jobs lost
* $837 million in lost annual tax revenue
* $20.5 billion in lost annual output to all U.S. industries

The MPAA and its member companies have a multi-pronged approach to fighting piracy, which includes educating people about piracy and its consequences, working through governments and courts to strengthen copyright laws, taking action against Internet thieves, working with law enforcement authorities around the world to root out pirate operations and working to ensure movies are available legally using emerging technologies.

The Boy Scout curriculum and patch can be viewed by visiting our website at www.mpaa.org.

About the MPAA

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members include: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; Paramount Pictures; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLLP; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.


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For more information, contact:

MPAA Los Angeles

Kori Bernards or Elizabeth Kaltman

(818) 995-6600

MPAA Washington, D.C.

Gayle Osterberg or Cara Duckworth

(202) 293-1966