DiMA Applauds House Judiciary Committee Attention to Copyright Infringement, Urges Caution to Avoid Harm to Legitimate Online Services

Washington, DC (March 15, 2011) Lee Knife, Interim Executive Director of the Digital Media Association, issued the following statement after yesterday’s hearing by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, “Promoting Investment and Protecting Commerce Online: Legitimate Sites v. Parasites, Part I”:

“DiMA applauds the House Judiciary Committee for addressing the important issue of copyright infringement.  Copyright infringement not only undermines the market for creative works, it also harms legitimate online businesses that often pay substantial licensing fees for the right to legally perform and/or distribute creative works to consumers.

“As Congress begins to examine options for curbing copyright infringement, DiMA urges committee members to heed advice offered by Acting Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante, who stated in her testimony:

‘While we agree with the goal of targeting a particular subset of bad actors in this online environment, one of the key challenges for policy makers will be to define carefully that category of websites targeted for additional enforcement measures, so as to avoid inadvertently capturing good faith actors.’

“Any policies Congress enacts should target true copyright infringement while continuing to protect legitimate, innovative businesses that provide great value and enjoyment to consumers.”