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RIGHTSHOLDER GROUPS URGE PRESIDENT TO MAINTAIN IP PRINCIPLES

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April 20, 2009

WASHINGTON – The Copyright Alliance joined an unprecedented coalition of 41 signatories to a letter sent today to President Obama expressing the critical role intellectual property protection plays in encouraging creativity, creating jobs, driving the economy, and enriching culture.

The broad coalition of unions, artists’ alliances, trade associations, companies and think tanks - representing the interests of millions of Americans in visual arts, publishing, music, television and motion pictures, video games, business software and other industries - has joined together to convey a positive message of the benefits of copyright, patent and trademark enforcement. The signatories also express trust in President Obama’s leadership in upholding the rights of creators and inventors, and confidence in his appointment process.

“This is a remarkable collection of creators and rightsholders, joining together to thank the Obama administration for recognizing the important role we play in our economy and in our culture,” said Copyright Alliance Executive Director Patrick Ross. “We are media photographers. We are motion picture carpenters. We are songwriters. We are university press publishers. We stand together in appreciation of policy leaders who understand the importance of intellectual property rights to our livelihoods and to America’s economy.”

This coalition of rightsholders is responding to an April 2 letter by a handful of organizations critical of President Obama and his leadership to date. The rightsholders emphasize their appreciation of the President’s past statements on the importance of intellectual property protection, and agree with the April 2 letter writers that presidential appointees should “promote innovation and advance the cause of progress in the sciences and useful arts.”

“The Copyright Alliance is a broad coalition of creators and rightsholders across the creative industries,” Ross said. “We’re thrilled to be part of an even larger coalition of individuals and industries enabled by intellectual property. We are confident our voices will be heard.”

ABOUT THE COPYRIGHT ALLIANCE

The Copyright Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization dedicated to the value of copyright as an agent for creativity, jobs and growth. For more information, please visit http://www.copyrightalliance.org/.

Members of the Copyright Alliance include: American Federation of Musicians; American Federation of Television & Radio Artists; American Intellectual Property Law Association; American Photographic Artists; American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; American Society of Media Photographers; Association of American Publishers; Association of Independent Music Publishers; AT&T; Broadcast Music, Inc.; Business Software Alliance; CBS Corporation; Church Music Publishers Association; Directors Guild of America; Entertainment Software Association; Graphic Artists Guild; Langley Productions; Magazine Publishers of America; Motion Picture Association of America; National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR); National Association of Broadcasters; National Collegiate Athletic Association; National Music Publishers' Association; National Basketball Association Properties, Inc.; NBC Universal; News Corporation; Newspaper Association of America; Picture Archive Council of America; PPL and VPL; Professional Photographers of America; Professional School Photographers Association; Recording Industry Association of America; Reed Elsevier; SESAC; Software & Information Industry Association; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Time Warner; Universal Music Group; Viacom; The Walt Disney Company; and Writers Guild of America, West.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.copyrightalliance.org/
CONTACT: Gayle Osterberg, 202/669-0689