Copyright Alliance Issues Statement in Support of the DEFEND IP Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eileen Bramlet ebramlet@copyrightalliance.org

Washington, DC—On September 25, Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid issued the following statement regarding the introduction of the Deterring Extraterritorial Foreign Exploitation of Networks Damaging Intellectual Property (DEFEND IP) Act by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Ben Cline (R-VA) and Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).

According to Kupferschmid, “The Copyright Alliance thanks Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Ben Cline, as well as Senators Thom Tillis, Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, and Adam Schiff for their commitment to protecting America’s creative community by introducing important legislation that would provide them with the tools necessary to combat foreign-based commercial scale piracy websites and online services.

“In recent years, foreign-based digital piracy websites and services have come to represent some of the most egregious online infringers, causing massive harm to copyright owners and creators, and in turn harming the U.S. economy, employment, and trade, and endangering everyday citizens who access such websites. Because the operators of these piracy websites and services are located outside the jurisdiction of U.S. federal courts, copyright owners have not been able to stop them from infiltrating our country. This legislation would provide an invaluable tool to block criminal enterprises from accessing U.S. markets, and in turn protect creators, copyright owners, and the public.

“We appreciate the enduring commitment of the Representatives and Senators to address this important issue with the introduction of The DEFEND IP Act, (H.R. 10575) (S. 5529)—legislation to amend the Copyright Act to provide for no-fault judicial blocking orders against foreign piracy sites. Nearly 60 countries around the world have successfully implemented similar blocking measures, and passage of the DEFEND IP Act would finally put the U.S. in lock step with the rest of the globe.  

“We look forward to working with Representatives Lofgren and Cline, as well as Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn, Schiff, and other policymakers and stakeholders to ensure that legislation enabling copyright owners to block foreign-based commercial scale piracy sites becomes law.”

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ABOUT THE COPYRIGHT ALLIANCE

The Copyright Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest and educational organization representing the copyright interests of over two million individual creators and over 15,000 organizations in the United States, across the spectrum of copyright disciplines. The Copyright Alliance is dedicated to advocating policies that promote and preserve the value of copyright, and to protecting the rights of creators and innovators. The Copyright Alliance is the unified voice of the copyright community, and the views espoused may not reflect the specific views of any individual or organization. For more information, please visit our website.