Bipartisan Legislation Will Fortify Federal U.S. Trade
Representative Efforts
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and Mark Foley (R-FL) have introduced the Fortifying America’s Intellectual Property Rights (FAIR) Act, which will make a number of important reforms to stem the scourge of global piracy. Specifically, the FAIR Act will establish a new U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) office dedicated exclusively to securing high standards of intellectual property rights protection within trade agreements. The bill also provides increased resources to vigorously enforce these agreements.
“The protection of our intellectual property rights abroad is vital to promoting America’s competitive advantages in world commerce,” Congressman Schiff said. “As our trade deficit continues to soar, Congress must step in now to ensure that we aggressively protect our intellectual property rights at home and abroad.”
The United States is the world’s largest creator and exporter of copyrighted materials, accounting for over five percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and adding $531 billion to the U.S. economy. In turn, international markets are a strong export base that sustains American jobs. However, this important sector of the U.S. economy is under attack due to widespread piracy – the unauthorized reproduction and sale of U.S.-made movies, music, software and other creative works.
Important advances in the effort to curtail piracy abroad have been made through free trade agreements with other countries. While the USTR is charged with identifying countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights, their resources in this area are currently limited. These efforts can be even more effective if the FAIR Act reforms are made.
Last April, the heads of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Entertainment Software Alliance (ESA) testified during a Senate hearing on intellectual property enforcement in support of reforms similar to the FAIR Act.
The motion picture industry estimates losses due to global piracy amount to $3.5 billion annually, not including illegal downloading. In Russia, for example, nine out of ten DVDs sold are counterfeit copies. Globally, two in five music recordings are pirate copies, with annual world-wide pirate sales of music estimated between $4-5 billion. The software industry estimates losses of over $13 billion due to worldwide piracy in 2002.
Congressman Schiff is a Co-Chair of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, a bipartisan group of 65 leading House and Senate lawmakers dedicated to working with America’s international trade partners to secure the enactment of strong copyright laws and the vigilant enforcement of those laws. Congressman Schiff is also a member of both the House Judiciary and International Relations committees. He represents California’s 29th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.