Agreement between the Coalition of Creators and Content Industries and the CITCO

The signature of this Agreement means an upgrading of the level of attention of the State Enforcement Agencies regarding intellectual property offences, by considering them "organized crime", and conferring to the body that today is the main police authority in the matter the monitoring, observance, coordination and direction of police agencies.

The agreement reached between the Coalition of Creators and Content Industries and the CITCO, (Centro de Inteligencia contra el Terrorismo y el Crimen Organizado- Intelligence against Terrorism and Organized Crime Centre), subordinate body of the Secretary of State for Security, with the rank of Sub-Directorate General, grouping together the National Counter Terrorism Coordination Centre (CNCA, in Spanish acronym) and the Intelligence Centre against Organized Crime (CICO), involves:

• The strengthening of internal direction and coordination in the field of police, in terms of intellectual property infringements via the CITCO.
• Significant support for investigation and prosecution of transnational organized bands in the field of the Internet.
• The application of common guidelines for these offences in accordance with the amendment of the Criminal Code, reinforcing the investigation of the economic aspects of such activities.
• The relevant collection, evaluation and monitoring of information from intelligence centres.

Four working areas shall be mainly developed:

1. Exchange information about the situation, composition and evolution of techniques and/or actions regarding intellectual property;
2. Draw up and implement protocols that allow for a fluent communication between enforcement agencies and professionals of the intellectual property sector, aimed at the prevention and investigation of intellectual property infringements;
3. Explore new ways to enhance the enforcement agencies’ awareness on the massive infringement of intellectual property rights on the Internet; and
4. Find new basis for cooperation or deepen existing ones.

The main objective is “establishing a form of dialogue that is extraordinarily swift and efficient» among the societies of cultural and entertainment sectors and the members of the enforcement agencies when gathering information for the investigation and prosecution of infringements. With the same purpose, CITCO shall establish the contact points for each State Enforcement Agency, at a central or territorial level, to which the Coalition shall have to address regarding the infringement of intellectual property rights.

The appreciation of the relevance of IP offences and the severe effects they represent for our society is paramount to the sector, as also is from the economic point of view. Likewise, the complexity of criminal structures is recognized and a strategic step forward is taken to know what is and who is behind piracy, and the existing links between such structures and organized crime.

This Agreement also yields a significant social benefit, on the one hand by considerably limiting a type of criminality that remained hidden to society, and on the other because it shall reduce the prejudices caused by thousands of lost jobs and taxes that the criminal pirate activity was representing for the State.