Declaration on Strenghtened International Cooperation in the Fight Against Film and Audiovisual Piracy

Lumière Summit — Saint-Paul-de-Vence, September 7, 2026

Jointly presented by France and the Republic of Korea

 

Participants gathered in Saint-Paul-de-Vence for the Lumière Summit—the first international summit on cinema and the moving image —representing countries, regions, international organizations, and professionals from the film, audiovisual, and gaming industries, all committed to creativity and cultural diversity, shared their experiences in combating piracy and identified ways to improve existing efforts.

Indeed, the participants agreed that cinema, the audiovisual sector, and moving images—which constitute a cultural heritage shared by nations and a pillar of their creative economies—are today threatened by online piracy on a global scale.

Beyond the considerable economic damage caused to these sectors, intellectual property infringements are closely linked to other serious forms of crime, which governments must then devote significant resources to investigating and prosecuting. Intellectual property theft represents a major drain on the global economy, sustaining an underground market that deprives governments of critical tax revenues, undermines lawful employment, and places viewers at risk, threatening their personal and financial security. Far from being isolated offenses, these infringements are often linked to organized criminal groups, for which they serve as a source of funding or as a means of facilitating other major criminal activities.

The actions taken by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), leading to the global dismantling of services and applications dedicated to piracy, as well as the structural initiatives already underway—including, notably, the EUIPO Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights , the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) WIPO ALERT platform, as well as cooperation initiatives among digital services coordinators under the European Digital Services Act, Online Piracy Prevention Project (I-SOP) by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) of the Republic of Korea, and the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) and national anti-piracy measures, have demonstrated that it is possible, through determined efforts, to limit the spread of piracy and mitigate its effects.

This collective potential must now be fully harnessed through significantly strengthened international cooperation. Accordingly, the participants commit to further explore the following ideas:

1. Establish a network of competent authorities or relevant organizations willing to contribute to combating piracy and designate, within each of them, a designated point of contact for supporting international cooperation, in order to facilitate direct, regular, and coordinated exchanges among the signatory countries, whether for the purposes of information sharing, cooperation, or issuing alerts. When a signatory country does not have a specific authority or organization available for this matter, it should designate a designated contact point for supporting its participation in the network and for relaying international cooperation to the relevant government agencies. Signatory private-sector entities should collaborate with this network by contributing to the sharing of information and best practices, by reporting services and entities that infringe copyright or related rights, and by assisting in the implementation of coordinated actions undertaken within this framework.
2. Share information regarding the identification of information and communications technology (ICT) providers involved in illicit activities linked to piracy, particularly in the form of lists of ICT services identified as illegal by the competent authorities or otherwise deemed illicit in the context of anti-piracy efforts, whether such lists are compiled for informational purposes or identify services subject to blocking measures or other restrictive measures. This network is intended to facilitate the exchange of information regarding illicit services among competent authorities, complementing and coordinating with existing mechanisms, particularly those developed at the international level, such as WIPO’s ALERT platform. To that end, willing participants may consider to develop common minimum standards and secure, interoperable procedures leveraging existing mechanisms where appropriate for the submission, validation, updating, correction, withdrawal and authorized access of such information, consistent with applicable confidentiality, data protection and procedural requirements. It should be understood that such lists are non-exhaustive, continuously evolving documents, intended to enable the gradual establishment of a common approach aimed at facilitating the taking into account of determinations made in other countries, whereby the inclusion of a service on a list drawn up by one of the competent authorities of the signatory countries would be brought to the attention of the other competent authorities and taken into account in their own national mechanisms, in accordance with applicable legal frameworks and procedural safeguards.
3. Develop an effective cooperation in relation to intermediaries that could help address infringements of copyright or related rights—such as but not limited to internet service providers, entities involved in managing internet traffic, or other technical intermediaries providing access to online services, including illicit services. This intermediary cooperation should be informed by international siteblocking best practices, encompassing effective and adaptive enforcement, proportionality and appropriate safeguards, time-limited measures, transparency and due process, precision and automation, and responsiveness to time-sensitive circumstances, in particular with regard to upcoming releases. The signatories may consider to provide mutual assistance or cooperate in addressing persistent implementation challenges, in order to contribute to the effectiveness of measures taken at the national level. To support timely and effective implementation, particularly in relation to pre-release content, signatories may consider to develop procedures for the rapid acknowledgment, validation and disposition of referrals, provide appropriate feedback on actions taken, and periodically assess the effectiveness and durability of measures undertaken through the network.

 

Adopted at Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 7 September 2026.

Signatories:

  

States, Regions, International Organizations

Côte d’Ivoire, France, Finland, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Republic of Korea

 

National and Regional Film Agencies

Austrian Film Institute, Cinema Foundation of Armenia, Estonian Film Institute, Film Centre of Montenegro, Film Fund Luxembourg, Finnish Film Foundation, Fondo Mixto de Promoción Cinematográfica Proimágenes Colombia, Fonds des Médias du Canada, General Organization of Cinema Syria, German Federal Film Board, Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center, Hungary, Indonesian Film Agency, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual, Kenyan Film Commission, KOCCA, KOFIC, SODEC, Swedish Film Institute, Téléfilm Canada

 

Organizations

 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC), Arcom, Arte France, Association Française des Cinémas Art et Essai,  Banijay France, Beta Group, Busan International Film Festival, Business France, Chapter 2, Cinépolis, Cineworld Group, CITIA, CJ ENM, CJ Group,  Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Durban FilmMart Institute, Eastman Kodak Co., École GOBELINS Paris, European Film Agency Directors Association (EFAD), Expertise France, Fédération Nationale des Éditeurs de Films, Federation Studios, Festival de Cannes, Festival Séries Mania, FICAM, Film Heritage Foundation, Films du Losange, Fubon Educational and Cultural Foundation, Galaxy Studio, Gaumont, Gaumont Télévision, GLOBO, HTC, I Wonder Pictures, Illumination Studios Paris, International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (CICAE), International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), JP Morgan, KawanKawan Media, Kinepolis Group, La Fémis, Letterboxd, Liquid XO, M6, Mediawan, Misr International Films, mk2 Group, MPA, National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF), NAVER, NEXON Korea, Nisaba Institution for Moving Images, Nomadis Image, North Road, Pathé Cinémas, Pathé Films, PHI Centre, Rothschild & Co, The Originals Group (TOG), San Sebastian Film Festival, SLL, Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM), Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD) Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Studios de Bry, Sud Écriture, Sunuy Films, TOHO Co., Ltd., Toronto International Film Festival, TVING, Unifrance, USC School of Cinematic Arts, Vietnam Film Promotion and Development Association, Vuelta, Webedia Éléphant, Xilam Animation.

 

Public personalities

Nabil Ayouch, Céline Calvez, Angele Diabang, Laurence Farreng, July Jung, Denis Masséglia, Tarik Saleh