With an estimated 300,000-500,000 illegally pirated movies being downloaded worldwide from the Internet every day, according to Boston-based research firm Viant, Hollywood heavyweights are starting to ruffle their feathers over a digital piracy trend that could potentially lead to a gloomy forecast for the entertainment industry overall.

Similar to the predicament the Recording Industry Association of America found itself in last year when illegal peer-to-peer services like Napster left an indelible mark on the music industry, entertainment industry members are pooling their energies and influence to find a viable security solution that would hinder, if not eliminate, the theft of creative digital content.

Speaking on behalf of Walt Disney Company shareholders as well as the range of professions that make up the entertainment industry, including writers, directors, grips, electricians, animators, and actors, Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner met with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation yesterday to make a plea for the establishment of open and common standards for the protection of creative content in digital broadband and digital broadcast distribution systems.

Eisner suggested that the consequences of digital piracy could have a disastrous effect not only on the industry itself and the livelihoods of all those who work behind the scenes, but on the economic contribution the entertainment industry makes to job growth, Gross Domestic Product, and foreign sales and exports.

According to Eisner, creative content generates more than $450 billion annually and provides jobs for more than 4 million Americans.

"But all this success is threatened by digital piracy, or, what we could commonly call theft," stated Eisner. "We know that we can never achieve, and do not expect 100 percent content security, but there must be a reasonably secure environment to prevent widespread and crippling theft of the creative content that drives our economy."

Eisner added in his testimony before the committee that the entertainment industry in general has risen to meet the challenges of the digital revolution and in no way are rebuking the advancement of digital technology. Instead, Disney is asking that the same level of innovation and expertise that has been applied to the development of technologies surrounding Internet advancement be equally applied to securing digital content against theft.

"These same digital technologies can enable a level of piracy that would undermine our capacity to produce films and entertainment, undermine deployment of broadband networks, undermine the digital television transition, and ultimately result in fewer choices and options for American consumers," stated Eisner.

Because of what Eisner called, "the ubiquitous nature of the Internet," high quality unauthorized copies of movies and television content can be transmitted virtually and instantaneously all over the world with no regard whatsoever for the rights of the content owners. Unlike analog content, which with each copy worsens in quality, each digitally pirated product is as perfect as the next, leading to a never-ending trail of bootlegged copies.

According to Andrew Frank, chief technology officer for Viant's media and entertainment practice and author of the study "The Copyright Crusade," the question of recourse is a difficult one and will require the cooperation of the creative content industry, the PC industry, and electronics industry, in addition to movie studios and entertainment companies taking a close look at what goes on inside their own gilded gates.

Viant published the study in June 2001 to call attention to the growing trend in content piracy for its clients that include Sony Pictures Entertainment and AOL/ Time Warner .

"I think it could be a gruesome scenario if nothing is done about it," said Frank. "However, I'm somewhat optimistic that people in general are willing to pay for superior product to the extent that the industry is able to offer legal alternatives, like the days of video cassettes, they could discover that internet distribution could be a windfall for the industry if they can get control of it."

According to John Dryer, senior vice president of corporate communications for Disney, "theft is theft," whether it comes from the inside or out. Dryer added that Disney has been as thorough as possible in securing its own product and can only hope to see some radical changes within the industry over the next eight to twelve months.

Dryer also added that on the eve of Eisner's Senate testimony, the chairman received a letter scribed on behalf of eight technology industry heavyweights, including Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Compaq Computer, Dell, IBM, and Motorola, proposing a series of sit-down talks to explore solutions to the digital piracy issues Disney and other entertainment industry entities are now facing.

"We're thrilled that the technology industry wants to sit sown and talk with us," said Dryer, "The sooner, the better."

From Eisner's perspective, the immediate solution lies in the establishment of common technological standards to help digital media devices identify and reject illegal, pirated copies of digital material and pave the way for a more "technologically predictable" market in which device manufacturers and content providers alike will be insured that their product is protected.

Eisner suggested that these common standards be open and not relegated by a single firm that could in any way hinder the development of new digital services and limit consumer choice in content.

"The standards must be renewable, upgradeable, and extensible," stated Eisner. "Without the necessity of time consuming bureaucratic processes in either private sector, or government, standards setting organizations."

Set standards must also be included in all digital media devices to secure a "reasonable" secure environment and prevent unfair competition by non-compliant device manufacturers.

But much like the uphill battle the RIAA faces as it continues to combat bootleg music releases, and in some case entire albums, over the Internet, any type of standards placement could take time. Meanwhile, every day, the entertainment industry is seeing its profits slide and valuable creative assets fly out the window.

"It is critical that the government act now to help achieve appropriate solutions," concluded Eisner. "The digital pirates are not waiting to act. Neither can our government."