This pro-PROTECT IP Act letter to the Senate is from the IFTA, MPAA, NATO, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, NBCUniversal, Disney Studios, Warner Bros., and Deluxe Entertainment.

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September 20, 2011

TO MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:

We write to urge that the Senate take up and pass S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act, a bill to help address the growing problem of rogue websites that profit from trafficking in stolen content.

We are gravely concerned about the proliferation of illicit web-based enterprises dedicated to stealing our products and the detrimental impact digital theft has on the millions of American men and women who work in our industry.

Of the 2.2 million American workers who depend on the entertainment industry for their jobs, the overwhelming majority are middle class workers who are proud to be part of a business that has created a quintessential American product for almost 100 years. The set builders, costume designers, electricians, ticket takers, concession attendants, assistant directors and cast members—the core of our creative community—are the ones who suffer when content is stolen online.

Internet sites that steal and distribute American intellectual property are often foreign-owned and operated, or reside at domain names that are not registered through a U.S.-based registry or registrar, setting them outside the effective scope of U.S. law enforcement jurisdiction. The Justice Department and rights holders are currently limited in their options for legal recourse, even when the website is directed at American consumers and steals American-owned intellectual property.

We wish to take this opportunity to share our thoughts on three important points related to this legislation:

Protecting Freedom of Speech and Economic Growth

The Internet is one of the greatest tools to advance freedom in our history, and freedom of expression is critically important if democratic ideals are to be disseminated around the world. However, freedom of expression is not alone among the core values we must protect online. If we want the online environment to reach its fullest social and economic potential, the Internet cannot be lawless. The authors of the PROTECT IP Act have taken care to ensure that law enforcement will have the necessary tools to combat the scourge of rogue sites within the boundaries of the First Amendment, leveraging the strong due process protections already built into federal procedure. As eminent constitutional expert Floyd Abrams noted:

The Protect IP Act is not constitutionally overbroad. The bill sets a high bar in defining when a website or a domain is eligible for potential actions by the Attorney General or private plaintiffs, the application of Federal Rule 65 serves as a check on overbreadth, and the bill’s treatment of linking is consistent with current precedent. The Protect IP Act is not designed to regulate the entire Internet. Nor is it designed to counter the vast array and forms of online infringement,which are subject to various laws already on the books. The Protect IP Act focuses, instead, on a narrow category of entities which are not simply trafficking in some infringing content, or occasionally breaking federal laws, but which are primarily devoted to providing or selling infringing content in the United States.

Mr. Abrams further wrote: “Copyright violations are not protected by the First Amendment ... [The PROTECT IP Act] does not impair or overcome the constitutional right to engage in speech; it protects creators of speech, as Congress has since this Nation was founded, by combating its theft.”

The real threat to freedom of expression, to American innovation, and to robust economic growth comes when thieves are allowed to steal the products of our most creative people and companies without fear of laws or consequences. A 2007 study for the Institute for Policy Innovation found that content theft costs the U.S. economy $58 billion each year, including $16 billion in lost employee earnings, and prevents the creation of over 370,000 jobs annually. By helping prevent rogue websites from profiting from stolen films, television shows, and other counterfeit goods, this legislation will safeguard billions of dollars in wages and hundreds of thousands of jobs right here in America.

Empowering Content Creators to Protect Their Property

The profitability of foreign rogue websites and the minimal legal risk their operators face have contributed to unprecedented growth in online content theft. A report in January by the brand monitoring firm Envisional found that nearly one-quarter of all Internet traffic is estimated to be copyright-infringing. We support the Senate bill’s inclusion of provisions that will allow rights holders to petition the court for limited injunctive relief against rogue websites, in the form of an order requiring U.S. companies that provide financial and other business support for these sites to take narrow and defined action to stop providing such support. This will complement the Justice Department’s work and provides a way for content owners to bear a share of the burden and expense of these measures.

This bill places only minimal requirements on U.S. companies to mitigate instances when they engage in transactions with illegal sites. At the same time, the bill encourages all members of the Internet ecosystem to take proactive steps to stop theft, including clear judicial oversight and robust safeguards for actions taken in good faith. This protection will open the doors to innovative approaches and private sector collaboration that encourages out-of-court solutions and dramatically reduces the threat of lawsuits faced by these companies when they take effective, responsible steps to address online theft.

Effective Deterrence with No Impact on the Internet’s Infrastructure

Some have claimed that requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and search engines to prevent U.S. consumers from accessing foreign rogue sites will “break the Internet.” Yet technology is already in use today to filter out malicious software and spam, or to allow parents to limit their children’s exposure to inappropriate material online, with no impact on the Internet’s infrastructure. That same technology can be deployed now to prevent easy access to foreign rogue sites, without endangering the promise of Secure DNS (DNSSEC) or otherwise impacting the safety or security of the Internet.

Common sense also urges the dismissal of suggestions that a vast number of Internet users will reconfigure their computers and jeopardize performance and safety by using less reliable, foreign domain name servers that reside outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. While we do not doubt that those Internet users who are most bent on engaging in infringing behavior will find a way to continue to do so, we agree with the experts at Ofcom, the UK’s independent communications regulator, which found that “[s]ite blocking is likely to deter casual and unintentional infringers and by requiring some degree of active circumvention raise the threshold even for determined infringers.”

In sum, we believe that the PROTECT IP Act provides much needed additional tools to combat digital theft, protect consumers, and help ensure a safer online marketplace in which legitimate businesses can flourish. The strong support shown for rogue sites legislation by a wide coalition of hundreds of businesses, state and local elected officials, law enforcement, first responders, and working people nationwide is a testament to what the Washington Post editorial page called the “need for a legal tool that stops those who persistently leech off of the innovations of others.”

We thank you for your attention to the pressing issue of content theft and look forward to working with the Senate as the bill moves to the floor.

Sincerely,

The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) Paramount Pictures Corporation Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation NBCUniversal Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.

cc: Majority Leader Harry Reid Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles E. Grassley Senator Orrin Hatch

This pro-PROTECT IP Act letter to the Senate is from the IFTA, MPAA, NATO, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, NBCUniversal, Disney Studios, Warner Bros., and Deluxe Entertainment.

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September 20, 2011

TO MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:

We write to urge that the Senate take up and pass S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act, a bill to help address the growing problem of rogue websites that profit from trafficking in stolen content.

We are gravely concerned about the proliferation of illicit web-based enterprises dedicated to stealing our products and the detrimental impact digital theft has on the millions of American men and women who work in our industry.

Of the 2.2 million American workers who depend on the entertainment industry for their jobs, the overwhelming majority are middle class workers who are proud to be part of a business that has created a quintessential American product for almost 100 years. The set builders, costume designers, electricians, ticket takers, concession attendants, assistant directors and cast members—the core of our creative community—are the ones who suffer when content is stolen online.

Internet sites that steal and distribute American intellectual property are often foreign-owned and operated, or reside at domain names that are not registered through a U.S.-based registry or registrar, setting them outside the effective scope of U.S. law enforcement jurisdiction. The Justice Department and rights holders are currently limited in their options for legal recourse, even when the website is directed at American consumers and steals American-owned intellectual property.

We wish to take this opportunity to share our thoughts on three important points related to this legislation:

Protecting Freedom of Speech and Economic Growth

The Internet is one of the greatest tools to advance freedom in our history, and freedom of expression is critically important if democratic ideals are to be disseminated around the world. However, freedom of expression is not alone among the core values we must protect online. If we want the online environment to reach its fullest social and economic potential, the Internet cannot be lawless. The authors of the PROTECT IP Act have taken care to ensure that law enforcement will have the necessary tools to combat the scourge of rogue sites within the boundaries of the First Amendment, leveraging the strong due process protections already built into federal procedure. As eminent constitutional expert Floyd Abrams noted:

The Protect IP Act is not constitutionally overbroad. The bill sets a high bar in defining when a website or a domain is eligible for potential actions by the Attorney General or private plaintiffs, the application of Federal Rule 65 serves as a check on overbreadth, and the bill’s treatment of linking is consistent with current precedent. The Protect IP Act is not designed to regulate the entire Internet. Nor is it designed to counter the vast array and forms of online infringement,which are subject to various laws already on the books. The Protect IP Act focuses, instead, on a narrow category of entities which are not simply trafficking in some infringing content, or occasionally breaking federal laws, but which are primarily devoted to providing or selling infringing content in the United States.

Mr. Abrams further wrote: “Copyright violations are not protected by the First Amendment ... [The PROTECT IP Act] does not impair or overcome the constitutional right to engage in speech; it protects creators of speech, as Congress has since this Nation was founded, by combating its theft.”

The real threat to freedom of expression, to American innovation, and to robust economic growth comes when thieves are allowed to steal the products of our most creative people and companies without fear of laws or consequences. A 2007 study for the Institute for Policy Innovation found that content theft costs the U.S. economy $58 billion each year, including $16 billion in lost employee earnings, and prevents the creation of over 370,000 jobs annually. By helping prevent rogue websites from profiting from stolen films, television shows, and other counterfeit goods, this legislation will safeguard billions of dollars in wages and hundreds of thousands of jobs right here in America.

Empowering Content Creators to Protect Their Property

The profitability of foreign rogue websites and the minimal legal risk their operators face have contributed to unprecedented growth in online content theft. A report in January by the brand monitoring firm Envisional found that nearly one-quarter of all Internet traffic is estimated to be copyright-infringing. We support the Senate bill’s inclusion of provisions that will allow rights holders to petition the court for limited injunctive relief against rogue websites, in the form of an order requiring U.S. companies that provide financial and other business support for these sites to take narrow and defined action to stop providing such support. This will complement the Justice Department’s work and provides a way for content owners to bear a share of the burden and expense of these measures.

This bill places only minimal requirements on U.S. companies to mitigate instances when they engage in transactions with illegal sites. At the same time, the bill encourages all members of the Internet ecosystem to take proactive steps to stop theft, including clear judicial oversight and robust safeguards for actions taken in good faith. This protection will open the doors to innovative approaches and private sector collaboration that encourages out-of-court solutions and dramatically reduces the threat of lawsuits faced by these companies when they take effective, responsible steps to address online theft.

Effective Deterrence with No Impact on the Internet’s Infrastructure

Some have claimed that requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and search engines to prevent U.S. consumers from accessing foreign rogue sites will “break the Internet.” Yet technology is already in use today to filter out malicious software and spam, or to allow parents to limit their children’s exposure to inappropriate material online, with no impact on the Internet’s infrastructure. That same technology can be deployed now to prevent easy access to foreign rogue sites, without endangering the promise of Secure DNS (DNSSEC) or otherwise impacting the safety or security of the Internet.

Common sense also urges the dismissal of suggestions that a vast number of Internet users will reconfigure their computers and jeopardize performance and safety by using less reliable, foreign domain name servers that reside outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. While we do not doubt that those Internet users who are most bent on engaging in infringing behavior will find a way to continue to do so, we agree with the experts at Ofcom, the UK’s independent communications regulator, which found that “[s]ite blocking is likely to deter casual and unintentional infringers and by requiring some degree of active circumvention raise the threshold even for determined infringers.”

In sum, we believe that the PROTECT IP Act provides much needed additional tools to combat digital theft, protect consumers, and help ensure a safer online marketplace in which legitimate businesses can flourish. The strong support shown for rogue sites legislation by a wide coalition of hundreds of businesses, state and local elected officials, law enforcement, first responders, and working people nationwide is a testament to what the Washington Post editorial page called the “need for a legal tool that stops those who persistently leech off of the innovations of others.”

We thank you for your attention to the pressing issue of content theft and look forward to working with the Senate as the bill moves to the floor.

Sincerely,

The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) Paramount Pictures Corporation Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation NBCUniversal Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.

cc: Majority Leader Harry Reid Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles E. Grassley Senator Orrin Hatch