The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) and the Video Streaming Association of Indonesia (AVISI) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Jakarta. 

The signing, held at the Coalition Against Piracy (CAP)’s State of Piracy Summit, sees AVIA and AVISI come together to both fight online piracy in Indonesia and promote awareness of the efforts to do so.

The MOU, according to an AVIA press release, represents a significant step forward for both the organisations in combining their resources to combat online piracy in Indonesia and protect Indonesia’s creative and media industries. 

Representatives from Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo) were also in attendance at the signing of the MOU, which followed a panel at the State of Piracy Summit hosted by AVIA and attended by representatives from Kominfo and AVISI.

The signing of the MOU comes at a time when CAP’s most recent annual consumer surveys show that 54 percent of consumers in Indonesia access pirate services in 2023, the fourth highest incidence of piracy in the region. 

There is, however, growing awareness of the downsides of piracy with 94% of Indonesian consumers believing that online piracy has negative consequences, the highest percentage in the region, with damage to the creative industry being the biggest perceived negative impact.

Ajeng Parameswari, General Secretary of AVISI, while emphasizing the core mission behind AVISI’s inception, said: “AVISI was established to cultivate a thriving ecosystem for the digital-creative industry, one that harmonizes seamlessly with the video streaming business model. Yet, the primary challenge we confront today is the pervasive threat of piracy.”

“We are delighted to join with AVISI to continue the fight against online video piracy,” said Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA. 

Boswell also noted, “Piracy is the single biggest problem the video industry faces and to solve the problem there has to be a multi-pronged approach. With the creation of AVISI, I believe we will have greater success and engagement with the industry in Indonesia to continue working towards solutions.”

AVIA is the trade association for the video industry and ecosystem in Asia Pacific. It serves to make the video industry stronger and healthier through promoting the common interests of its members.