Copyright Alliance

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The Copyright Alliance is an advocacy group formed on May 17, 2007 by 29 unions, companies and organizations including groups that represent songwriters, recording artists, film makers, authors, photographers and sports leagues (see members below). It is committed to promoting the cultural and economic benefits of copyright. After its first month its membership grew to 40 organizations.

The group supported an IP-PRO bill establishing a "copyright czar" in June 2008 Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.[1] The PRO-IP bill was introduced in the Senate shortly thereafter and passed into law.[2] Ars Technica called the bill a victory for "Big Content", though a provision for the Department of Justice to join suits for the benefit of copyright holders was stripped from the bill, and blasted a Copyright Alliance estimate of $250 billion in lost revenue, since revised to $50 billion, as "unbelievably worthless".[3]

On November 16, 2009, the Copyright Alliance was joined by some of its grassroots members in hand-delivering a letter to the White House signed by more than 11,000 artists and creators, calling on President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden to defend the rights of artists and creators.

In May 2009 it launched the Creators Across America campaign, which includes videos of artists and creators across the United States speaking about their arts and their rights under copyright law.

Members

At its launch in May 2007 the Copyright Alliance had a membership of 29 organizations purporting to represent 11 million workers, including the Association of American Publishers, Microsoft, the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, Viacom and Walt Disney.[4] As of December 2011 the Copyright Alliance listed forty organizations as board and executive members.[5]

Copyright Alliance received $600,000 from the MPAA in 2012, which that year had also donated $475,000 to the Center for Copyright Information and $100,000 each to the Democratic Governors Association and Republican Governors Association as part of an anti-piracy campaign.[6]

Leadership

Patrick Ross[7] served as executive director for four years until succeeded by Sandra Aistars on December 20, 2010.[8] Prior to taking the position Aistars was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Time Warner. She is also chairman of the Copyright Alliance Education Foundation.[9]

Political issues

The launch of the Copyright Alliance was supported by U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), ranking Representative Howard Coble (R-NC), and Representative Howard Berman (D-CA), members of the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. Berman, speaking of his inspiration by the late Jack Valenti, spoke of "the constant assaults on copyright law" and called the group's launch "a tremendous idea".[4] Coble said that ""Digitization and related technologies beg some changes to the copyright laws, and I wish you the best of luck and my support as you roll out the Copyright Alliance"[10]

The Copyright Alliance was launched in opposition to the Digital Freedom Campaign, formed the preceding October, whose members include the Consumer Electronics Association, Public Knowledge, and the Electronic Freedom Foundation.[4] Exemplifying sentiments toward the group was an editorial by Mike Masnick of Techdirt, which called the Copyright Alliance "a front group to protect the interests of big copyright holders allowing them to prop up obsolete business models"[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Brooks Boliek (2008-06-08). "Nancy Sinatra joins the fight for radio royalty". Reuters. 
  2. ↑ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.3325: "S. 3325 at thomas.loc.gov"]. 
  3. ↑ Nate Anderson (2008-10-14). "Big Content gloats as Bush signs PRO-IP Act". Ars Technica. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Broache, Anne (2007-05-17). "Backers of stronger copyright laws form lobby group". CNET News.com. Retrieved 2007-09-09.  (also available from )
  5. ↑ "Alliance Members". Copyright Alliance. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  6. ↑ Richard Verrier (2013-11-20). "MPAA's Chris Dodd earned $3.3 million in 2012". L.A. Times. 
  7. ↑ "Advocate...". Patrick Ross.  (personal website)
  8. ↑ "Sandra Aistars named executive director, Alliance board announces". Copyright Alliance. 2010-12-20. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  9. ↑ "Our Staff". Copyright Alliance. Retrieved 2012-12-18. 
  10. ↑ Boulton, Clint (2007-05-18). "Will Copyright Alliance's Wax Trigger YouTube's Wane?". internetnews.com. Retrieved 2007-09-09. 
  11. ↑ Masnick, Mike (2007-05-18). "As if Big Copyright didn't already have enough lobbying clout...". Techdirt. Retrieved 2007-09-09. 

External links

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