Monday, June 27, 2005 Contact: Sean Oblack (202) 225-4176 Schiff Applauds Grokster Decision WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) had the following statement on the Grokster decision: “Today’s decision is a victory for all the hardworking, talented, and creative people in our community and country.  The Court struck the appropriate balance between the protection of intellectual property and the desire to provide consumers with easy and lawful access to movies and music,” said Schiff. Congressman Schiff’s district in California is home to entertainment industry leaders including:  DreamWorks, Warner Brothers, ABC, NBC and Disney. He 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 International Relations and Judiciary Committees and the Intellectual Property Subcommittee.   Last year Congressman Schiff authored a provision in the Omnibus Appropriations bill (H.R. 4818) that created an “Intellectual Property Czar” to strengthen America’s intellectual property rights throughout the world.  Congressman Schiff proposed the creation of a similar office in the Fortifying America’s Intellectual Property Rights (FAIR) Act (H.R. 5117), introduced in September 2004. 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.  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. The motion picture industry estimates losses due to global piracy amount to $3.5 billion annually, not including illegal downloading.  In Russia, 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 represents California’s 29th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, Pasadena, San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.                                                    -30-