CEA Concerned With Copyright Enforcement

The Consumer Electronics Association expresses serious concern over components of the Intellectual Property Protection Act.

The following statement was issued today by Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) President and CEO Gary Shapiro regarding the The Intellectual Property Protection Act (H.R. 2391):

“On behalf of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), I express grave concern over several titles included in H.R. 2391. This legislation combines several intellectual property-related bills into one piece of omnibus legislation. In total it is a lot like a Clint Eastwood movie. Some of it is good. Some of it is bad. And some of it is downright ugly.

“We support the Artists’ Rights and Theft Protection (ART) segment of this legislation, and we appreciate the willingness of Congress to make accommodations that recognize our concerns.

“We also supported passage of the Family Movie Act as drafted, but after the bill passed the subcommittee, broadcasters and the motion picture industry had the legislation changed so that technology which allows commercial skipping becomes legally suspect.

“We are uncomfortable, however, with taxpayers funding copyright enforcement for major multinational companies. This is absurd.

“We also must question why Congress, without any discussion or debate, would criminalize the behavior of several million individuals. Not every download is theft.

“We respect the fears of those in the content community who are honestly concerned about protecting their intellectual property. But pursuing overly broad legislation will not protect their legacy business models. The truth is, some in the content community use downloading simply as an excuse to ignore other trends impacting the industry.

“Indeed, consideration of this legislation comes in the context of rising CD sales, according to record industry data. Via technology, consumers have greater access to a broader range of music than ever before. There are many other factors other than downloading that account for declining revenue in the music industry (see attachment). For example, why does it cost almost as much to buy a CD soundtrack of a movie than to purchase the DVD? Audio component sales are down as well but loudspeaker manufacturers are not running to Congress to ask for help.

“This omnibus bill would create a new category of criminal activity and restrict technology and consumer behavior. The House and the Senate should carry this bill over into the next Congress where each of its pieces can be given careful consideration in regular order. We pledge our cooperation in giving full consideration to each component of this legislation so we can preserve the careful balance between protecting intellectual property while preserving fair use and innovation.”