Washington, D.C. (Thursday, May 17) - Leading Members of Congress today offered bipartisan
encouragement to the newly launched Copyright Alliance, a non-profit,
non-partisan educational organization dedicated to promoting the value of
copyright as an agent for creativity, jobs and growth.
The Alliance comprises 29 member
organizations from the worlds of entertainment, arts, technology and sports,
and represents an estimated 11 million Americans working in copyright-related
industries. Its Executive Director, Patrick Ross, is a former journalist and
think tank senior fellow with more than 10 years of expertise writing about and
advocating for the importance of intellectual property.
House
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) welcomed the coalition's
formation in a statement read at the launch event, which also featured a panel
discussion with Grammy-winning musicians, a noted academic expert, and working artists.
"Strong
copyright laws are essential to protect the livelihoods of millions of artists
and inventors," said Conyers. "But just
as importantly, strong copyright is important to all Americans by driving
creativity and innovation in our economy."
Rep.
Howard Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts,
the Internet and Intellectual Property, dropped by the event to offer
additional words of encouragement. Berman is a well-known advocate of strong
copyright law.
Rep.
Howard Coble, ranking Republican on the Courts, Internet and Intellectual
Property Subcommittee, sent a statement to the event which read in part: "I appreciate your effort to form one collective voice
on copyright reform. As you know, copyright legislation is one of the
most complicated and important areas in U.S. law. Digitization and
related technologies beg some changes to the copyright laws, and I wish you the
best of luck and my support as you rollout the Copyright Alliance."
"Everybody
loves creative works, and starting today, the Copyright Alliance will work to
ensure the creative process continues by advancing the interest of millions of
Americans," said Ross. "Just look at the
breadth of our membership: artists' unions and guilds; large and small production and distribution
companies; amateur and professional sports leagues; book publishing; business
software; graphic artists; magazines; movies; music; newspapers; photographers;
radio; television; and video game developers. Our common mission is to provide
educational resources and promote creativity, jobs and growth through
copyright."
As one of
its first actions, the coalition presented Chairman Conyers with a set of policy
principles that the group said would guide their educational outreach
efforts:
CULTURAL ENRICHMENT
- To enrich our culture through
incentives to create and disseminate new and innovative creative works to
citizens.
PROGRESS
- To promote the progress of
science and creativity, as enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, by
upholding and strengthening copyright law and preventing its diminishment.
EDUCATION
- To advance educational programs
that teach the value of strong copyright and its vital role in fostering
creative expression, driving economic growth, and enriching the lives of
our citizens.
ENFORCEMENT
- To protect the incentive to
create by supporting effective civil and criminal enforcement of copyright
laws domestically and internationally.
DISSEMINATION
- To defend the rights of
creators to control their property, understanding the necessary balance of
those rights with the public good.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
- To encourage the inclusion of
copyright protections in bilateral, regional, and multilateral agreements
to protect creators and foster global development.
FREE EXPRESSION
- To protect the rights of
creators to express themselves freely under the principles established in
the First Amendment, with copyright as an "engine of free expression."
The
Copyright Alliance is supported by an Academic Advisory Committee, and one of
the Committee's members was a participant in the panel discussion -- James
Gibson, University of Richmond Law Professor. Other panelists included Lamont
Dozier, a Grammy-winning Motown songwriter; Steve Cropper, a Grammy-winning
guitarist, songwriter, producer, and founding member of Booker T. and the MGs; Steve
Siwek of Economics, Inc., an author of comprehensive economic studies of
copyright; Tim O'Brien, a Grammy winning singer and songwriter; and Tom Paxton,
another Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter.
Members of
the Copyright Alliance include: American Federation of Television & Radio
Artists, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; American
Society of Media Photographers; Association of American Publishers; Broadcast
Music, Inc.; Business Software Alliance; CBS Corporation; Directors Guild of
America; Entertainment Software Association; Magazine Publishers of America; Major
League Baseball; Microsoft; Motion Picture Association of America; National
Association of Broadcasters; National Collegiate Athletic Association; National
Music Publishers' Association; NBA Properties, Inc.; NBC Universal; News
Corporation; Newspaper Association of America; Professional Photographers of
America; Recording Artists' Coalition; Recording Industry Association of
America; Software & Information Industry Association; Sony Pictures
Entertainment; Time Warner; Viacom; Vin Di Bona Productions; and The Walt
Disney Company.
The
Copyright Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization
dedicated to promoting the value of copyright as an agent for creativity, jobs
and growth. For more information, please
visit www.copyrightalliance.org.
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