ROMA (ITALPRESS) – “Audiovisual piracy is a phenomenon run by criminal mindsets, an illegal activity that creates huge damage to the market and businesses, risking thousands of jobs and penalizing the entire cultural and creative chain. On the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day, this year focused on the strategic role of intellectual property in sport, it is necessary to reiterate that the protection of content and copyright is not only an economic question, but also of legality and respect for work. It is essential to convey this message to make it clear that piracy is a crime and to raise public awareness about the disability of illegal activity that is still too widespread.” This is said by President FAPAV (Federation for the Protection of Audiovisual and Multimedia Content Industries), Federico Bagnoli Rossi, at the World IP Day 2026 promoted by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). “But what we want to highlight – he adds – is that piracy does not only concern football, but all sports. It has been estimated for 2024 a damage of 350 million euros in terms of turnover lost directly because of sports piracy, which is practiced by 15% of the adult population and sees in football the most representative content, followed by F1, Tennis and MotoGP. Of course, the theme is general: it’s not just about sports, it’s all about us. Just consider that, always in terms of loss of turnover, are estimated altogether repercussions for the Italian economy pairs to approximately 2.2 billion euros. They’re impressive numbers. There is therefore a need to continue and strengthen the collective commitment, which sees together institutions and enterprises, to stop a crime that harms the whole country system. FAPAV has been promoting the World IP Day in Italy for years, we will also do so this year, with an initiative on 14 May morning in collaboration with the CIVITA Association – concludes Bagnoli Rossi – which will involve representatives of sports and institutions and the extraordinary presence of Sylvie Forbin, Deputy Director General, Copyright & Creative”.
Photos: Ipa Agency
