September 17, 2021
View the letter as a PDF in English and Portugeuse.
Mário Luiz Sarrubbo
Procurador-Geral de Justiça do Estado de São Paulo
Dear Mr. Sarrubbo,
I am the President and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which serves as the voice and advocate for the U.S. video game industry. Our members are the innovators, creators, publishers and business leaders that are reimagining entertainment and transforming how we interact, learn, connect and play. On behalf of our members, I would like to thank the Attorney General’s Office, Cyber Gaeco and the State of Sao Paulo for the excellent work during a recent operation, named Operation Final Boss, which shut down illegal websites offering pirated copies of video games. The operation shows the importance of collaboration between government authorities and rights owners to combat digital piracy and protect consumers.
Video games continue to play an important role in Brazilian society and have a positive impact on the people, culture and the economy. There are over 270 video game companies that operate in Brazil employing thousands with good paying jobs. In 2020, over $1.6 billion BRL was spent on games in Brazil. The success of Operation Final Boss against illegal websites offering pirated goods protects consumers from being exposed to identity theft, malware and other criminal activity. ESA applauds the efforts of Richard Encinas and Lister Caldas from Cyber Gaeco for their outstanding work coordinating Operation Final Boss. Combined, the websites that were shut down had over 3 million monthly visits, including almost 1 million unique visits, as well as over 14,000 infringing video game titles. Our member companies appreciate the efforts of all those involved, and we are especially thankful for your leadership in ensuring this operation was a big success.
ESA looks forward to future cooperation with you, Cyber Gaeco, and other authorities to continue our strong partnership to protect consumers and ESA members’ intellectual property. Thank you for your continued efforts to fight intellectual property crime.
Sincerely,
Stanley Pierre-Louis
