"Due to the rise in accessibility of UltraHD and 4K, pirated content is generally of higher quality than years prior," wrote Shelli Bernard, research analyst at ABI. "Because consumers may no longer be able to readily differentiate the legality of their downloaded content, content owners need to remain on guard, relying on piracy prevention technologies to continuously monitor for, and gather evidence of, uploaded pirated content."
ABI points to three key practices that businesses and content owners should look to adopt into their current workflows:
- Make Content Accessible: Research the content's targeted audiences and their geographic locations. Ensure that content is available for streaming or download in all applicable regions to make content most accessible to those who care.
- Monitor, Monitor, Monitor: Rely on a piracy prevention service to continuously monitor known piracy sites and gather evidence of pirated content. It is important to catch the pirated content as quickly as possible, as the Internet is a haven for pirates looking to quickly circulate illegal content through an array of online channels.
- Take Legal Action: Many developed countries are enforcing appropriate legislation to fight piracy. As such, it is imperative for content owners to take immediate legal action in the event of piracy.
"A lot of companies are viewing piracy as a competitor," wrote Bernard. "Not only are these companies competing against legitimate streaming services, such as Amazon Prime and Netflix, but now also against illegal sites that attempt to generate an abundance of pirated content. The more prevention practices that companies put into place to hinder piracy, the better."