US entertainment sectors jointly files petition with gov’t stressing the importance of copyright enforcement

A group of seven representatives and unions of the entertainment industry have created a joint letter to the US Federal government. In doing so, it answers the call for public comments from the American Office of Intellectual Property Enforcement.

As can be expected from an American lobby document, the filing is filled with resounding phrases like “Online copyright theft undermines our economy, steals our jobs and threatens our national interest.”

When you succeed in reading past these terms, it is an interesting document. To begin with, the filing was written not just by the usual suspects, the representatives of the big movie and music production firms, but also by the unions for actors, directors and television and radio artists.

It is not just the big, faceless money making machines that suffer from piracy, as pirates like to portray. File sharing also affects the tough secret agent and the handsome doctors from our favourite series.

Economic aspects, that have resulted in an “is not” “is too” argument that has not changed for years now, the letter commits to paper another argument: copyright is needed to protect and enable copyright.

When making entertainment, just like when developing new products, big investements are made. Copyright allows investors to reap what they have sown. Without that security, investments will falter and the production of entertainment, one of societies’ providers of culture and cultural diversity will grind to a halt.

Protection of intellectual property, the letter says, is not the end of the story. Enforcement is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. “That end is a dynamic, content-rich, readily accessible, and hassle-free marketplace that excites and engages consumers while it also compensates those who, for almost a century, have made it possible for American movies, music and other media to entertain and educate audiences (around the world).”

We will keep you to that promise, industry!

25 maart 2010