Stephen Garrett: Files are shared like the Brinks Matt gang shared out gold bullion

Imagine, if you will, that you live next door to the Jones’, and that they in turn live next door to the Smiths. You discover that the Smiths have found a way of accessing your electricity supply (they use it, you pay for it) and that the Jones’ garden is being used as a conduit for this theft of your power. You ask the Jones’ to do the neighbourly thing, and cut off the supply of the electricity going to the Smiths you have paid for. They refuse. This is what it is like being a producer, writer, director or actor today – anyone, in fact, who owning any IP in the film or TV world today. Because our neighbours, the Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) are the Jones’. And they don’t appear to give a damn.

Online file sharing sounds warm and cuddly, even benign. But it is in fact file theft. Files (by which I mean movies and TV shows) are being shared in the same amiable way that the Brinks Matt gang shared out gold bullion. I know this because one of Kudos’ productions - Spooks - appears second in the list of most popular illegally downloaded British shows. Clearly many of those who share these files illegally justify to themselves that the rights-holders whose property they are taking are either corporations or already very successful individuals - "fat cats" in other words. But most of us are just cats. What we do is incredibly expensive, every TV drama or movie involving as it does months of hard work for hundreds of people, truck loads of equipment and state of the art technology. All of this has to be paid for, which means that we need the revenues that come from the sale of our creations as DVD’s or downloads. I stress the word "sale" in this.

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Moreover, it’s important to note that the costs of illegal file-sharing go much wider than just the production companies, the writers or the producers. On a personal level, they are felt in the lives of those whose livelihood depends on the 800,000 jobs generated by the creative industries and, on a more global level, they are felt right across the British economy in decreased levels of consumer spending and output - not to mention lost tax revenues for Mr Darling.

Last week I joined with 100 other British producers, directors and writers to demand that the future of the creative sector is safeguarded through urgent Government action to tackle illegal file-sharing. At a time of economic downturn, saving jobs and securing economic activity is more important than ever. Investment in new forms of bringing entertainment to the public depends on legitimate sales of material, whilst lost opportunities of innovation is the tab picked up by those who do pay for content for those who refuse to do so.

Finding a way forward depends on Internet Service Providers playing the key role in eliminating illegal file-sharing from their networks. Their commercial interests are built on the continual flow of new content and that is why it should be their responsibility to ensure that material that is transmitted over the networks is legitimate. Whilst voluntary codes of practice between ISPs and rights-holders are an important part of what is required to make this happen, it now appears to be the case that only a legal duty on ISPs to take action against illegal file-sharers can create the level playing field necessary to create change. Without legislation, scope will remain for those ISPs less inclined to take responsibility to act as a beacon for infringers, whilst forming a commercial disincentive for more responsible ISPs to play their part. In the light of this, I joined the 100 other producers, writers and directors in demanding strategic leadership from the Government and a making good on their commitment to legislate on this issue.

The creative economy forms an important part of innovation and job creation in the UK.

Even more importantly, its products provide enjoyment and learning for people in communities across the country. Illegal file-sharing forms an increasing threat to all of this and the Government owes it to the creative industries. A legislative finger needs to be thrust into this particular dyke. Or there will be no dyke. Films and TV programmes will simply die by virtue of lack of funds. They are too valuable to be just given away.

Stephen Garrett is joint managing director of Kudos Film and Televison, the makers of Spooks, Hustle and Life on Mars