President's Corner
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President's Corner - November 2011 |
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Greetings – November has been a busy month on Capitol Hill and NMPA is excited to share some legislative developments. The Stop Online Piracy Act was introduced in the House in late October with much anticipation from thesongwriting and music publishing industry. This legislation follows Senate introduction of the PROTECT-IP Act earlier this year. Both bills aim to give law enforcement officials and rightsholders more tools tocombat Internet theft on overseas rogue websites. A hearing by the House Judiciary Committee is planned in the coming weeks, with floor action possible in both the House and Senate before year’s end. These are extremely positive developments and we encourage you to weigh in with your Senators and Members of Congress in favor of these efforts. Also this month, the NMPA gathered with lawmakers and other members of the International IntellectualProperty Alliance (IIPA) to release a new report,Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy. Among the report’s findings: U.S. copyright industries including the music publishing and songwriting communities employed more than 10.6 million workers and contributed more than $1.6 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2010. America’s copyright industries continue to be a key economic driver, but that productivity and creativity is threatened more and more by digital theft. As the marketplace moves online, making sure copyrights are enforced in the digital world as they are in the physical world will mean the difference between sustaining these jobs and seeing them dwindle and disappear. That’s why the pending House and Senate bills are so important. Senators Orrin Hatchand Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representatives Bob Goodlatte and Adam Schiff, co-chairs of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, all delivered remarks and reiterated their support for legislative reinforcement to crack down on rogue websites. I hope everyone enjoys the start of a fantastic holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving! Until next time, David |
