Newly Launched Copyright Alliance To Promote Creativity, Jobs and Growth Through Copyright

Leading members of Congress have offered bipartisan encouragement to the newly launched Copyright Alliance, a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization dedicated to promoting the value of copyright as an agent for creativity, jobs and growth.

The Alliance comprises 29 member organizations from the worlds of entertainment, arts, technology and sports, and represents an estimated 11 million Americans working in copyright-related industries. Its executive director, Patrick Ross, is a former journalist and think-tank senior fellow with more than 10 years of expertise writing about and advocating for the importance of intellectual property.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Ml) welcomed the coalition’s formation in a statement read at the launch event, which also featured a panel discussion with Grammy-winning musicians, a noted academic expert, and working artists.

“Strong copyright laws are essential to protect the livelihoods of millions of artists and inventors,” said Conyers. “But just as importantly, strong copyright is important to all Americans by driving creativity and innovation in our economy.”

“Everybody loves creative works, and starting today, the Copyright Alliance will work to ensure the creative process continues by advancing the interest of millions of Americans,” said Ross. “Our common mission is to provide educational resources and promote creativity, jobs and growth through copyright.”

The Copyright Alliance is supported by an Academic Advisory Committee, and one of the Committee’s members was a participant in the panel discussion: James Gibson, University of Richmond law professor. Other panelists included Lamont Dozier, Grammy-winning Motown songwriter; Steve Cropper, Grammy-winning guitarist, songwriter, producer, and founding member of Booker T. and the MGs; Steve Siwek of Economics, Inc., an author of comprehensive economic studies of copyright; Tim O’Brien, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter; and Tom Paxton, another Grammy-winning folk singer/songwriter.

Members of the Copyright Alliance include: American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; American Society of Media Photographers; Association of American Publishers; Broadcast Music, Inc.; Business Software Alliance; CBS Corporation; Directors Guild of America; Entertainment Software Association; Magazine Publishers of America; Major League Baseball; Microsoft; Motion Picture Association of America; National Association of Broadcasters; National Collegiate Athletic Association; National Music Publishers Association; NBA Properties, Inc.; NBC Universal; News Corporation; Newspaper Association of America; Professional Photographers of America; Recording Artists’ Coalition; Recording Industry Association of America; Software & Information Industry Association; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Time Warner; Viacom; Vin Di Bona Productions; and The Walt Disney Company.

The Copyright Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization dedicated to promoting the value of copyright as an agent for creativity, jobs and growth. For more information, visit www.copyrightalliance.org