Senator Dodd Celebrates the Creative Sector as a Driving Force in the Digital Ecosystem
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2014
SENATOR CHRIS DODD CELEBRATES THE CREATIVE SECTOR AS A DRIVING FORCE IN THE DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM
PARIS – Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) delivered remarks today at the Forum Chaillot event entitled ‘Avenir de la Culture, Avenir de l’Europe’, where he participated at a panel discussion which focused on copyright and the financing of creation in the digital era.
Congratulating the French Minister of Culture and Communication, Aurélie Filippetti, for spearheading and inspiring this timely event, “… and for recognizing the centrality of copyright, creativity and innovation …” he also remarked that “…in many ways, it is the demand for great content that has been the driving force behind the development of the digital ecosystem we all know today.”
Intellectual Property protection and the need to reform copyright have been at the center of intense debate in Europe and across the world. The creative sectors are dynamic and make a tremendous contribution to European growth and jobs. According to a study published by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market and the European Patent Office, core copyright-intensive industries generate 7 million jobs, contribute approximately EUR 509 billion and generate a trade surplus.
Dodd added: “The evidence of the need for much if not all of the reform being put forth is lacking and based on misleading assertions. We must take a wider look at how the world has changed in the two decades since many of the rules and regulations were written and examine the responsibility shared by all those in the digital space to create an Internet that works for everyone.”
Dodd called on the creative sector to change the nature of the debate. “Liability privileges given to certain intermediaries are out of synch with the reality of their role today. … And when the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the EU E-Commerce Directive were created search engines did not exist but are an essential tool of everyday life today.”
He also focused on the fundamental obligation to ensure that creators, artists and authors are justly remunerated. “In the U.S. we started adapting our collective bargaining agreements with talent a decade ago and are updating them to secure payment for various forms of internet exploitation. The system is delivering.”
“What we need is a dialogue between interested stakeholders…by working together to ensure that creators continue to have the freedom and protection they need, we can also ensure that the types of great innovations we have seen continue to drive the digital age.”
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About the MPAA
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
For more information, contact:
MPA Brussels, Belgium
Sabine Henssler, Communications Director, EMEA
+ 32 (0) 2 778 2701
Sabine_henssler@motionpictures.org
MPAA Washington, DC
Howard Gantman
(202) 293-1966
howard_gantman@motionpictures.org