The British Video Association will merge “back office functions”...

The British Video Association will merge “back office functions" with the Industry Trust for IP Awareness “to focus greater resource on shared challenges,” the London-based groups said Thursday. Each group will keep its “core” identities, the BVA to promote sales of home entertainment content, the Industry Trust to run consumer education campaigns to thwart video piracy, the groups said. The merger is intended to keep both organizations “on a sustainable path in a rapidly changing market,” they said. Liz Bales, director general of the Industry Trust, will be CEO for both bodies, they said. Lavinia Carey, who recently resigned as the BVA’s director general, will be a “consultant lobbyist” for both groups, they said.