Motion Picture Association Steps Up Overseas Anti-Piracy Effort

The Motion Picture Association is stepping up its overseas anti-piracy effort by appointing former Disney digital anti-piracy executive Thomas Limouzin-Lamothe in the newly created role of VP content protection across the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Limouzin-Lamothe will report to Larissa Knapp, the former high-ranking FBI official and anti-piracy investigator who in 2024 joined the MPA as EVP and chief content protection officer.

Limouzin-Lamothe will now lead the MPA’s content protection strategy across EMEA. “He will work closely with regional stakeholders, law enforcement agencies, industry partners, and member companies to address the challenges of digital piracy, including live sports piracy and illicit IPTV piracy,” according to a statement.

The MPA leads global anti-piracy organization Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment that comprises more than 50 media companies around the world whose governing board members are Amazon, Apple TV, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery. A recent ACE member is the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which joined in October 2025.

Recently, studios have been taking legal action against AI firms such as China’s MiniMax for using copyrighted characters including Darth Vader, Spider-Man and Batman to generate content, as well as Chinese tech giant ByteDance for its controversial AI video generation tool Seedance 2.0, marking a shift in the anti-piracy fight toward defending IP against AI-driven copyright infringement.

“I’m honored to join the Motion Picture Association at a time when collaboration and innovation are more important than ever in protecting creative works,” Limouzin-Lamothe said in the statement. “I look forward to working with MPA members and regional partners to strengthen enforcement, disrupt illegal services and support a sustainable creative ecosystem throughout EMEA in an ever-evolving piracy landscape.”

Limouzin-Lamothe started his career as an IP litigator, spending a decade working at top French law firms. His experience spans intellectual property law, cybercrime enforcement and large-scale anti-piracy operations in both private practice and in-house leadership roles. Prior to Disney, he held positions at 21st Century Fox and Microsoft, “where he built and led multinational teams, developed region-wide enforcement strategies and delivered measurable revenue and compliance outcomes across EMEA, with a focus on the Middle East, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe,” the statement said.

As Disney’s chief legal counsel for anti-piracy in EMEA, Limouzin-Lamothe was involved in global investigations where he helped manage intelligence-driven enforcement initiatives protecting films, television content, streaming platforms and sports rights across multiple markets in the region.