This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal
American industry group lobbies for three-strikes style anti-piracy system in US
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 25 June 2010
US VP Joe Biden may have been talking tough about intellectual property protection earlier this week, but some key players within the US record label community reckon more lobbying is needed to ensure political types step up their game when it comes to helping copyright owners fight online piracy.
Universal Music exec Jim Urie is leading a campaign encouraging US record industry types to start more proactively lobbying the American parliament and government regards the file-sharing issue. Ultimately the Music Rights Now group want US politicians to start investigating the measures being instigated by their counterparts in the UK, France and New Zealand regarding tackling piracy, ie three-strikes style systems that force internet service providers to get more actively involved in trying to stop file-sharing.
Although Urie says he still supports efforts to get a voluntary agreement between the record industry and the net firms regarding anti-file-sharing measures, government needs to put the pressure on to make that happen, presumably, ultimately, by threatening to force three-strikes through legislation if no voluntary set up can be agreed. Urie wants record industry types to start writing to their reps in Congress about the issue.
The campaign follows a speech made by Urie a convention for US music retailers last month. He told CMU yesterday: “I’ve received hundreds of emails enthusiastically reacting to my ‘call to action’ at the National Association Of Recording Merchandisers Convention last month. The music business is facing huge challenges from piracy and theft. Never before in American history has an entire industry been so decimated by illegal behaviour. Yet the government has not responded in a meaningful way to help us address this crisis”.
He continues: “My call to action is for all of us to become more aggressive in lobbying our government, more outspoken in drawing attention to the problems caused by piracy and more actively engaged. We cannot win this fight alone. Governments outside the US are legislating, regulating and playing a prominent role in discussions with ISPs. Sales have dramatically improved in these countries. How is it that the US – with the most successful music community in the world – is not keeping up with places like South Korea, France, the UK and New Zealand?”
Confirming that he hopes “the industry can negotiate a voluntary deal with the ISPs” he adds: “[But] we need our government representatives to encourage this”.
Any US-based record label types wanting to take part in Urie’s lobbying efforts should go to www.musicrightsnow.org, where all is explained. Those American’s who would oppose any efforts to put a three-strikes style system into effect in the US can start rehearsing being very angry, just in case the Music Rights Now campaign works and gets enough congressmen supporting new anti-piracy measures.
