Major advertising associations are encouraging advertisers
to include "no rogue site" provisions in their online advertising
contracts.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the
American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) circulated a statement of
best practices Thursday at a meeting of the International Anti-Counterfeiting
Conference in Washington.
The goal is to prevent ads from appearing on pirate websites
posting infringing content, the "follow the money" approach foes of
online piracy legislation have pushed as a better approach than boosting
government/industry powers to go after alleged infringing sites. Advertisers
had supported stronger government and industry powers as well as going after
the money.
The statement "specifically advises marketers to
include language in their media placement contracts and insertion orders to
prevent ads from appearing on 'rogue sites' dedicated to infringement of
intellectual property rights of others."
Also supporting the best practices is the Interactive
Advertising Bureau.
"The deceptive practices of these 'rogue' websites are
unfair both to consumers and the companies that invest vast resources to
establish brand integrity," said AAAA President Nancy Hill in a statement.
"Combating online piracy and counterfeiting is a key priority for the entire
business community and we look forward to continuing to work with the White
House, Congress and all of our industry partners on this important issue."
"We hope today's announcement will spur other
intermediaries and participants in the digital marketplace to seriously examine
how their own best practices could evolve to contribute to the reduction of
Internet theft, the protection of the consumer and the promotion of American
innovation and creativity," said the Directors Guild of America in a
statement.
