Ad Associations Encourage Inclusion of 'No Rogue Site' Provisions in Contracts

Statement of best practices seeks to prevent ads from appearing on websites posting pirated content

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/3/2012 2:10:14 PM

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.