For Immediate Release:
November 20, 2009 Background: The Motion Picture Association Association (MPAA) yesterday sent a letter to Capitol Hill asking for more transparency for deliberations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). A copy of the letter is here: http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/mpaa-acta-letter-20091119.pdf
The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:
“We are pleased to join MPAA in asking for more transparency in the deliberations over the anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). That request is long overdue. We hope the MPAA sends its message to the U.S. Trade Representative in addition to its letters to Congress.
“However, we do not agree that the dispute over the backroom deliberations of this agreement are a ‘distraction.’ The disagreement about public involvement goes to the heart of an open and responsible government. Allowing a select few non-industry observers, including Public Knowledge, to view the contents of the ACTA proposal under strict non-disclosure terms is not a substitute for full public participation. An open and transparent government was one of the first promises made by the Obama Administration.
“We also take issue with the assertion that opponents of the treaty are ‘indifferent’ or ‘actively hostile,’ to use MPAA’s terms, to improving worldwide copyright enforcement. Public Knowledge is not. We endorse a focus on commercial reproduction of DVDs and other hard goods, which is a more serious problem.
“We do want to make certain, however, that the rights of Internet users are not trampled by overwhelming government power asserted at the behest of a single special interest. What PK objects to is imposing unreasonable burdens on civil liberties and innovation, particular where these have such limited impact. In particular, it is inappropriate to ask ISPs and application designers to do what the studios themselves have found impossible to do, manage security to prevent all illegal copying.
“And while the MPAA may be correct in its statements about the economic impact of its industry, we also note that despite the constant threat of ‘piracy,’ the industry has reported that the number of motion pictures released in 2009 so far (and the figure is incomplete) is higher than last year, and that the number has grown in the past five years. Box office receipts, as well, continue on an ever-upward pace.”
Note: Techdirt has a summary of motion pictures produced, here: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091101/1818186751.shtml
