Motion Picture Association of America
Encyclopedia
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA), originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members. MPAA is a United States non-profit business Trade Organization and administers the voluntary, but dominant MPAA film rating system.
MPAA ratings carry no force of local, state, or federal law anywhere in the United States. They only serve as a consumer suggestion by a group of corporate analysts. After screening films, the selected viewers arrive at one of five ratings. Theater owners agree to enforce corporate film ratings as determined by the MPAA, which in turn facilitates their access to new film releases.
The primary MPAA ratings are G (general), PG (parental guidance suggested/some material might not be suitable for children), PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned/some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13), R (Under 17 requires parent or adult guardian/restricted), and NC-17 (minors are not admitted).
As part of its campaign to curb copyright infringement
, the MPAA fights against sharing copyright
ed works via peer-to-peer
file-sharing networks. The MPAA's anti-piracy campaign has gained much publicity and criticism.
, "Metro-Goldwyn" and First National
founded Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, headed by former U.S. Postmaster General Will H. Hays
. In May 1925 Independent Producers Association, together with Motion Picture Theater Owners Of America, accused "Big Three" for acting as a Trust
and denounced Hays as their "mouthpiece". In October they filled claims to the Federal Trade Commission
, providing a 280-page report detailing "Big Three's" tactics. The "Big three" made a few concessions to quell the critics but the monopolistic Studio system
was eventually established and not brought down until 1948: United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.
.
The group administered the so-called "Hays code" film censorship from 1930 to 1968. Effectively enforced from 1934.
In 1945, Hays was succeeded by former U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Eric Johnston
. It was during Johnston's tenure that the name of the organization was changed to "The Motion Picture Association of America". Johnston inherited the stringent censorship responsibilities associated with the Hays Code, but added to his mission the promotion of American films, which were gaining in popularity overseas in the post-World War II era. Following Johnston's death in 1963, the MPAA's top post remained unfilled for three years, while studio executives searched for a successor.
Alongside the progress of civil rights, women's rights and labor movements, a new kind of American film was emerging—frank and uninhibited. Amid society's expanding freedoms, the movie industry's restrictive regime of self-censorship became increasingly outdated. In May 1966, Jack Valenti
, former Special Assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson
, was named MPAA President. That same year, sweeping revisions were made to the Hays Code to reflect changing social mores. In 1968, Valenti founded the voluntary film rating system easing restraints on filmmakers' creative and artistic freedoms, while fulfilling its core purpose of informing parents about the content of films so they can determine which movies are appropriate for their children. More than forty years later, the rating system continues to evolve with a changing society.
In 2004, after serving as MPAA president for 38 years, Valenti retired and was replaced by former Kansas Congressman and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
. Glickman led the association during a period of significant industry transformation, retiring from the position in the Spring of 2010. While the advent of the digital era created new opportunities for delivering movies to consumers, it also gave rise to a potential threat to the industry—online movie piracy.
On March 1st, 2011, former senator Chris Dodd was chosen to be the new head of MPAA.
Unrestricted
Restricted
Other
MGM
was an MPAA member until 2005, shortly after Sony Pictures Entertainment's failed attempt to buy that studio. Other, smaller studios and distribution companies that are not members of the MPAA avail themselves of the association's rating and title registration services.
(VCR) on copyright grounds. In a 1982 congressional hearing, Valenti decried the "savagery and the ravages of this machine" and compared its effect on the film industry and the American public to the Boston strangler
.
s.
.
In February 2006, the MPAA released the following statement:
violations, Swedish police raided The Pirate Bay
, a BitTorrent tracker based in Sweden
, on May 31, 2006. Some 65 police officers participated in the raid, shutting down the site and confiscating its servers, as well as all other servers hosted by Pirate Bay's ISP
, PRQ
Inet. Three people—Gottfrid Svartholm
, Mikael Viborg, and Fredrik Neij
—were held by the police for questioning. Three days later, Pirate Bay was fully functional again.
The raid became controversial in Sweden
when the Swedish public broadcast network
, Sveriges Television
, cited unnamed sources claiming that the raid was prompted by political pressure from the United States
. The Swedish government allegedly was threatened with WTO
trade sanctions unless action was taken against Pirate Bay.
The Swedish government denied these allegations. However, a letter titled "Re: The Pirate Bay" from the MPAA to Swedish State Secretary Dan Eliasson, dated two months before the raid, hinted at trade reprisals. The letter stated, "it is certainly not in Sweden's best interests to earn a reputation as a place where utter lawlessness is tolerated." The letter went on to urge Eliasson to "exercise your influence to urge law enforcement officers in Sweden to take much needed action against The Pirate Bay."
In an MPAA press release, which has since been taken down, dated May 31, 2006, entitled "Swedish Authorities Sink Pirate Bay," Glickman states:
In both the 2007 documentary Good Copy Bad Copy
and the film Steal This Film II
, Glickman spoke about the 2006 raid on The Pirate Bay
and conceded that piracy will never be stopped. He emphasized, however, that the MPAA will try to make it as difficult and tedious as possible.
has further emphasized the MPAA’s role in controlling content, notwithstanding that some users may access content they otherwise could not, such as NC-17 movies not shown in theaters. Although the MPAA has won several victories, like with Razorback2 and through a series of successful lawsuits against public torrent websites, online piracy is still growing steadily with more and more participants.
Arguably, the effect MPAA raids have had on overall online pirating traffic is limited. For example, the day Razorback2 (a major server on the Edonkey2000
network) was shut down, Edonkey2000
network traffic remained constant. The MPAA, however, claims to have had a very successful history shutting down networks of pirated material and torrent sites and alleges that during 2006, for example, 75 were shut down.
On November 23, 2007, Matthew Garret notified the MPAA that it was in violation of the GNU General Public License
(GPL) for distributing a software toolkit, based on the Xubuntu
operating system and designed to help universities detect instances of potentially illegal file-sharing on school networks. Garret alleged that the MPAA violated the GPL by distributing a derived work without making source code available. On December 1, 2007, Garrett notified the Internet service provider
for the MPAA that, in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
, he was requesting them to disable the offending distribution web site. The MPAA subsequently changed its site so the toolkit was no longer offered for distribution.
. They also cite the MPAA's support for closed standards that hinder competition. Other critics, like filmmaker Kirby Dick
, have suggested that films released by major studios (members of the MPAA) are given more deference in terms of ratings than films released by independents.
is an independent documentary film about the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system and its effect on American culture, directed by Kirby Dick
and produced by Eddie Schmidt. The film discusses disparities the filmmaker sees in ratings and feedback: between Hollywood and independent film
s, between homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, between male and female sexual depictions, and between violence and sexual content.
MPAA ratings carry no force of local, state, or federal law anywhere in the United States. They only serve as a consumer suggestion by a group of corporate analysts. After screening films, the selected viewers arrive at one of five ratings. Theater owners agree to enforce corporate film ratings as determined by the MPAA, which in turn facilitates their access to new film releases.
The primary MPAA ratings are G (general), PG (parental guidance suggested/some material might not be suitable for children), PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned/some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13), R (Under 17 requires parent or adult guardian/restricted), and NC-17 (minors are not admitted).
As part of its campaign to curb copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
, the MPAA fights against sharing copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed works via peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
file-sharing networks. The MPAA's anti-piracy campaign has gained much publicity and criticism.
History
In 1922, "Big Three"; Famous Players-LaskyFamous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
, "Metro-Goldwyn" and First National
First National
First National was an association of independent theater owners in the United States that expanded from exhibiting movies to distributing them, and eventually to producing them as a movie studio, called First National Pictures, Inc. It later merged with Warner Bros.-Early history:The First National...
founded Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, headed by former U.S. Postmaster General Will H. Hays
Will H. Hays
William Harrison Hays, Sr. , was the namesake of the Hays Code for censorship of American films, chairman of the Republican National Committee and U.S. Postmaster General from 1921 to 1922....
. In May 1925 Independent Producers Association, together with Motion Picture Theater Owners Of America, accused "Big Three" for acting as a Trust
Trust law
In common law legal systems, a trust is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another...
and denounced Hays as their "mouthpiece". In October they filled claims to the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
, providing a 280-page report detailing "Big Three's" tactics. The "Big three" made a few concessions to quell the critics but the monopolistic Studio system
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
was eventually established and not brought down until 1948: United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.
United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.
United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., 334 US 131 was a landmark United States Supreme Court anti-trust case that decided the fate of movie studios owning their own theatres and holding exclusivity rights on which theatres would...
.
The group administered the so-called "Hays code" film censorship from 1930 to 1968. Effectively enforced from 1934.
In 1945, Hays was succeeded by former U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Eric Johnston
Eric Johnston
Eric Allen Johnston was a business owner, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce, a Republican Party activist, president of the Motion Picture Association of America , and a U.S. government special projects administrator and envoy for both Democratic and Republican administrations...
. It was during Johnston's tenure that the name of the organization was changed to "The Motion Picture Association of America". Johnston inherited the stringent censorship responsibilities associated with the Hays Code, but added to his mission the promotion of American films, which were gaining in popularity overseas in the post-World War II era. Following Johnston's death in 1963, the MPAA's top post remained unfilled for three years, while studio executives searched for a successor.
Alongside the progress of civil rights, women's rights and labor movements, a new kind of American film was emerging—frank and uninhibited. Amid society's expanding freedoms, the movie industry's restrictive regime of self-censorship became increasingly outdated. In May 1966, Jack Valenti
Jack Valenti
Jack Joseph Valenti was a long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America. During his 38-year tenure in the MPAA, he created the MPAA film rating system, and he was generally regarded as one of the most influential pro-copyright lobbyists in the world...
, former Special Assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, was named MPAA President. That same year, sweeping revisions were made to the Hays Code to reflect changing social mores. In 1968, Valenti founded the voluntary film rating system easing restraints on filmmakers' creative and artistic freedoms, while fulfilling its core purpose of informing parents about the content of films so they can determine which movies are appropriate for their children. More than forty years later, the rating system continues to evolve with a changing society.
In 2004, after serving as MPAA president for 38 years, Valenti retired and was replaced by former Kansas Congressman and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
Dan Glickman
Daniel Robert "Dan" Glickman is an American businessman and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture from 1995 until 2001, prior to which he represented the Fourth Congressional District of Kansas as a Democrat in Congress for 18 years. He was Chairman and CEO of the...
. Glickman led the association during a period of significant industry transformation, retiring from the position in the Spring of 2010. While the advent of the digital era created new opportunities for delivering movies to consumers, it also gave rise to a potential threat to the industry—online movie piracy.
On March 1st, 2011, former senator Chris Dodd was chosen to be the new head of MPAA.
Ratings
Currently, the MPAA has 5 main ratings:Unrestricted
- G for General - Nothing that would offend parents for viewing by their children.
- PG for Parental Guidance - Parents urged to give "parental guidance". May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.
- PG-13 for Parental Guidance 13+ - Parents urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers.
Restricted
- R for Restricted - Contains some adult material. Parents urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.
- NC-17 for No Children Under 17 Admitted - Patently adult. Children are not admitted.
Other
- NR for Not Rated - A movie either not classified by the MPAA, or unrated.
Structure
MPAA members include the six big Hollywood studios:- Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group (The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
); - Sony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
(SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
); - Paramount PicturesParamount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(ViacomViacomViacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
); - 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
(News CorporationNews CorporationNews Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
); - Universal StudiosUniversal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
(NBCUniversal); - Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
(Time WarnerTime WarnerTime Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
).
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
was an MPAA member until 2005, shortly after Sony Pictures Entertainment's failed attempt to buy that studio. Other, smaller studios and distribution companies that are not members of the MPAA avail themselves of the association's rating and title registration services.
Home recording
In the early 1980s, the Association opposed the videocassette recorderVideocassette recorder
The videocassette recorder , is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time...
(VCR) on copyright grounds. In a 1982 congressional hearing, Valenti decried the "savagery and the ravages of this machine" and compared its effect on the film industry and the American public to the Boston strangler
Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
.
Publicity campaigns
The MPAA has promoted a variety of publicity campaigns designed to increase public awareness about piracy, including "You Wouldn't Steal a Car", a 2004 advertisement appearing before program content on many DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s.
Legal actions
The MPAA has instituted legal actions against a number of peer-to-peer file-sharing sites (or BitTorrent trackers) used to upload and download copyrighted material like movies. Widely publicised examples include Razorback2 and The Pirate BayThe Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
.
In February 2006, the MPAA released the following statement:
The Pirate Bay
Responding to allegations of copyrightCopyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
violations, Swedish police raided The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
, a BitTorrent tracker based in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, on May 31, 2006. Some 65 police officers participated in the raid, shutting down the site and confiscating its servers, as well as all other servers hosted by Pirate Bay's ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
, PRQ
PRQ
PeRiQuito AB is a Swedish Internet service provider and web hosting company created in 2004.-Ownership:Based in Stockholm, PRQ is owned by Gottfrid Svartholm and Fredrik Neij, two founders of The Pirate Bay.- Business model :...
Inet. Three people—Gottfrid Svartholm
Gottfrid Svartholm
Per Gottfrid Svartholm Warg , alias anakata, is a Swedish computer specialist, known as the co-owner of the web hosting company PRQ and co-founder of the BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay together with Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde...
, Mikael Viborg, and Fredrik Neij
Fredrik Neij
Hans Fredrik Lennart Neij , a.k.a. TiAMO, is a co-founder of The Pirate Bay, a BitTorrent index site and tracker. He also owned the web host PRQ, which previously hosted The Pirate Bay....
—were held by the police for questioning. Three days later, Pirate Bay was fully functional again.
The raid became controversial in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
when the Swedish public broadcast network
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
, Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
, cited unnamed sources claiming that the raid was prompted by political pressure from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Swedish government allegedly was threatened with WTO
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
trade sanctions unless action was taken against Pirate Bay.
The Swedish government denied these allegations. However, a letter titled "Re: The Pirate Bay" from the MPAA to Swedish State Secretary Dan Eliasson, dated two months before the raid, hinted at trade reprisals. The letter stated, "it is certainly not in Sweden's best interests to earn a reputation as a place where utter lawlessness is tolerated." The letter went on to urge Eliasson to "exercise your influence to urge law enforcement officers in Sweden to take much needed action against The Pirate Bay."
In an MPAA press release, which has since been taken down, dated May 31, 2006, entitled "Swedish Authorities Sink Pirate Bay," Glickman states:
In both the 2007 documentary Good Copy Bad Copy
Good Copy Bad Copy
Good Copy Bad Copy, A documentary about the current state of copyright and culture, is a documentary about copyright and culture in the context of Internet, peer-to-peer file sharing and other technological advances, directed by Andreas Johnsen, Ralf Christensen, and Henrik Moltke.It features...
and the film Steal This Film II
Steal This Film
Steal This Film is a film series documenting the movement against intellectual property produced by The League of Noble Peers and released via the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol....
, Glickman spoke about the 2006 raid on The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
and conceded that piracy will never be stopped. He emphasized, however, that the MPAA will try to make it as difficult and tedious as possible.
Disputed figures
On January 22, 2008, the MPAA admitted publishing incorrect figures in a study in which it claimed 44% of film industry revenue losses in America due to piracy were occurring at colleges. The study had been produced by the MPAA to put pressure on universities to crack down on illegal file-sharing and to lobby for legislation before the House of Representatives that would force them to do so. The MPAA's revised figure reduced the claimed loss of revenue to 15%.Fight against online piracy
The rise of the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
has further emphasized the MPAA’s role in controlling content, notwithstanding that some users may access content they otherwise could not, such as NC-17 movies not shown in theaters. Although the MPAA has won several victories, like with Razorback2 and through a series of successful lawsuits against public torrent websites, online piracy is still growing steadily with more and more participants.
Arguably, the effect MPAA raids have had on overall online pirating traffic is limited. For example, the day Razorback2 (a major server on the Edonkey2000
EDonkey2000
eDonkey2000 was a peer-to-peer file sharing application developed by US company MetaMachine, using the Multisource File Transfer Protocol...
network) was shut down, Edonkey2000
EDonkey2000
eDonkey2000 was a peer-to-peer file sharing application developed by US company MetaMachine, using the Multisource File Transfer Protocol...
network traffic remained constant. The MPAA, however, claims to have had a very successful history shutting down networks of pirated material and torrent sites and alleges that during 2006, for example, 75 were shut down.
Allegations of copyright infringement by the MPAA
In 2007, English software developer Patrick Robin alleged that the MPAA illegally used his blogging platform, Forest Blog, which is distributed without cost under a linkware license, whereby users must link back to his site. To remove these links, one must secure a license, but Patrick Robin claimed the MPAA removed them without purchasing a license. The MPAA responded that it was only testing the blogging platform and that the blog was "never advertised to the public in any way."On November 23, 2007, Matthew Garret notified the MPAA that it was in violation of the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
(GPL) for distributing a software toolkit, based on the Xubuntu
Xubuntu
Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd. recognized, community maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, using the Xfce desktop environment.The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu...
operating system and designed to help universities detect instances of potentially illegal file-sharing on school networks. Garret alleged that the MPAA violated the GPL by distributing a derived work without making source code available. On December 1, 2007, Garrett notified the Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
for the MPAA that, in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
, he was requesting them to disable the offending distribution web site. The MPAA subsequently changed its site so the toolkit was no longer offered for distribution.
Monopoly
Because MPAA members are the motion picture industry's most powerful studios, in turn owned by some of the world's largest media corporations, critics of the association often raise allegations of monopolyMonopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
. They also cite the MPAA's support for closed standards that hinder competition. Other critics, like filmmaker Kirby Dick
Kirby Dick
Kirby Dick is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for directing documentary films. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature for directing Twist of Faith...
, have suggested that films released by major studios (members of the MPAA) are given more deference in terms of ratings than films released by independents.
In Other Media
This Film Is Not Yet RatedThis Film Is Not Yet Rated
This Film is Not Yet Rated is a 2006 independent documentary film about the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system and its effect on American culture, directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Eddie Schmidt. It premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released limited on...
is an independent documentary film about the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system and its effect on American culture, directed by Kirby Dick
Kirby Dick
Kirby Dick is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for directing documentary films. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature for directing Twist of Faith...
and produced by Eddie Schmidt. The film discusses disparities the filmmaker sees in ratings and feedback: between Hollywood and independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
s, between homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, between male and female sexual depictions, and between violence and sexual content.
See also
- Australian Classification BoardAustralian Classification BoardThe Australian Classification Board is a statutory classification body formed by the Australian Government which classifies films, video games and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in Australia since its establishment in 1970. The Australian Classification Board was originally incorporated...
- British Board of Film ClassificationBritish Board of Film ClassificationThe British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
- Anti-copyrightAnti-copyrightAnti-copyright refers to the complete or partial opposition to prevalent copyright laws. Copyright is known as the owner's right for copies to be only made by the owner or with his/her authorization in form of a license....
- DeCSSDeCSSDeCSS is a computer program capable of decrypting content on a commercially produced DVD video disc. Before the release of DeCSS, there was no way for computers running a Linux-based operating system to play video DVDs....
: decryption program for DVD video discs using Content Scramble SystemContent Scramble SystemContent Scramble System is a Digital Rights Management and encryption system employed on almost all commercially produced DVD-Video discs. CSS utilizes a proprietary 40-bit stream cipher algorithm... - Entertainment Software Rating BoardEntertainment Software Rating BoardThe Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
- Lucky and FloLucky and floLucky and Flo are a pair of black Labrador retrievers, notable for being the first animals trained to detect optical discs by scent. They are sponsored by the MPAA and FACT, as part of an initiative to combat copyright infringement relating to motion pictures and DVDs.Although the dogs are...
- National Association of Theatre OwnersNational Association of Theatre OwnersThe National Association of Theatre Owners is a trade organization based in the United States whose members are the owners of movie theaters. Most major theater chains are members, as are many independent theatre operators; collectively, they account for the operation of over 26,000 motion...
- Operation Red CardOperation Red CardOperation Red Card is the name given to a two-month Asia-wide anti-piracy operation that was conducted by the Motion Picture Association which resulted in the seizure of 6.7 million pirated discs in 12 countries across the Asia-Pacific region...
- Pre-Code Hollywood
- Recording Industry Association of AmericaRecording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
- This Film Is Not Yet RatedThis Film Is Not Yet RatedThis Film is Not Yet Rated is a 2006 independent documentary film about the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system and its effect on American culture, directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Eddie Schmidt. It premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released limited on...
- Who Makes Movies?Who Makes Movies?Who Makes Movies? was an advertising campaign run jointly by several international associations looking to crack down on copyright infringement of motion pictures, most notably the MPAA, as part of the larger "Respect Copyrights" campaign...
- You can click, but you can't hideYou can click, but you can't hideYou can click, but you can't hide is a publicity campaign run jointly by several international associations, most notably the MPA, the MPAA, and the GVU, as part of the larger "Respect Copyrights" campaign against peer-to-peer file sharing of motion pictures...
- Center for Copyright InformationCenter for Copyright InformationThe Center for Copyright Information is an American organization created by large media corporations which aims to curtail online copyright infringement by informing the public about online copyright law. The Center is responsible for creating the Copyright Alert System which uses Internet...