NMPA Applauds Congressional Leadership in Calling out Global Theft
Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus Releases 2011 Watch List
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / May 26, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Music Publishers’ Association’s President and CEO David Israelite today joined the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus for the announcement of its 2011 International Piracy Watch List. The annual list highlights countries – and now websites – that are the most egregious offenders of copyright laws and enforcement. This year’s event also focused on the troubling role that advertising plays on websites devoted to theft, which use advertising by well-known businesses to lend a false sense of legitimacy.
The announcement took place in the U.S. Capitol complex with the Caucus’ co-chairs Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) as well as representatives of the copyright community.
Israelite made the following remarks:
“Whether the black market is online or in back alleys, the consequences are ultimately the same – American creators lose. Today’s announcement continues an important, ongoing effort to raise awareness of the systemic problems of piracy in all its forms. The music publishers and songwriters applaud all efforts to expose these bad actors, and especially appreciate the Caucus raising awareness to the problem of advertising on illegitimate sites. Highlighting this problem is not only important to the copyright community, it is an important public service to consumers, who are often misled by sites that use advertising and other trappings of legality to disguise themselves as legitimate.
“We thank the Caucus for its efforts on these issues and we will continue working with them to ensure a safe and lawful marketplace for consumers and the American creative community alike.”
The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus was formed in 2003 and is a bipartisan and bicameral organization dedicated to protecting American intellectual property around the world and on the Internet.
About the NMPA
Founded in 1917, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) is the trade association representing American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The NMPA’s mandate is to protect and advance the interests of music publishers and songwriters in matters relating to the domestic and global protection of music copyrights.