What's New

Presidents Corner: March 2010
Greetings to you all -

The NMPA this winter continues its longstanding efforts to support the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIAP) and its annual recommendations to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

In mid-February NMPA joined IIPA’s six other trade association members in filing the annual “Special 301” report with USTR. This section of the Trade Act involves the process, led by USTR, of identifying countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.

IIPA’s submission discusses copyright piracy, the legal and enforcement reforms needed to fight it and other market access barriers in 39 countries/territories. IIPA recommends that 35 of these countries be named to an appropriate USTR watch list, including 10 countries recommended to be placed on a “priority” watch list: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Mexico, People’s Republic of China, the Philippines and Russia.

IIPA also sets out the key global challenges facing the copyright industries in 2010 and the U.S. government and industry initiatives that must be taken to meet them, including successful negotiation of the “Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement” to encourage higher standards of enforcement and greater cooperation among governments of our key trading partners.

Demand for American music does not stop at America’s shores, and the NMPA therefore continues in our commitment to monitoring and advocating for intellectual property rights and enforcement on a global scale.

I hope you will join us for our Annual Meeting to hear about these and other important issues. I am pleased to announce here in the President’s Corner that this year’s meeting will take place June 16th, 2010 in New York City.  

Last year’s meeting was a resounding success. Mark Helprin, American novelist served as the keynote speaker, discussing his book “Digital Barbarism, A Writers Manifesto”. Multi-platinum singer/songwriter Wyclef Jean was honored with a Platinum Award for his hit song “Hips Don’t Lie”, and the 2009 Songwriter Icon Award was given to Kara DioGuardi, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and judge on “American Idol”.

We are hard at work planning another amazing event for you this year and I hope you can join us.