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| MPAA Lobbies For Wall Street Reform Posted: 15 Aug 2011 01:29 PM PDT
As is tradition, the RIAA is the biggest spender of the two entertainment industry lobbying groups. In the first two quarters of this year the music industry representatives spent over $3.8 million in Washington. The topics covered by the RIAA are as expected. They lobbied at the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in favor of ACTA, the PROTECT IP Act, and to support new legislation that will make streaming of copyrighted material a felony. And then there’s the MPAA. Thus far, the MPAA’s lobbying efforts have cost over $1.2 million dollars this year. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but some of the topics they are lobbying for in Washington are quite interesting to say the least. Aside from focusing on the traditional copyright-related matters, the movie industry group is also concerned with reforming Wall Street. By hiring Michael Torrey Associates, the MPAA has spent tens of thousands of dollars to advance the implementation of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Unusual, since the topic doesn’t relate to the interests of the thousands of movie industry workers whose jobs are at stake. No, these lobbying efforts are only meant for MPAA’s Chairman and CEO Chris Dodd. The Wall Street Reform Act the MPAA is heavily invested in is also known as the Dodd-Frank Act, as the current MPAA Chairman proposed the act late 2009 when he was still a senator. The fact that the MPAA is spending money on this issue is a clear example of revolving door politics . Lobby reportLooking at the history of MPAA’s lobbying efforts we see that Wall Street Reform was already a topic the movie studios where interested in while Dodd was still acting as senator. Dodd was officially announced as MPAA Chairman March 2011, but the MPAA’s lobbying efforts already started in the last quarter of 2010. The timeline above suggests that the MPAA was putting money into supporting Dodd’s legislation in the hope of convincing him to join them as Chairman. And it worked, as he signed on for the job by the end of February. And it looks like the MPAA and Dodd made a long tern deal to support his old work. Even today the MPAA continues to put money in supporting Dodd’s Wall Street Reform plans ($180,000 and counting), all at the expense of those poor lighting technicians and makeup artists who work in the movie business. Source: MPAA Lobbies For Wall Street Reform  |
| ISP CEO Slams Copyright Law and Outdated Business Models Posted: 15 Aug 2011 08:00 AM PDT
As should be clear by now, those who are found to be uploading copyright material are first sent two warnings via their ISP. After a third, copyright holders are able to take Internet account holders to the Copyright Tribunal where they will face fines of up to $15,000 and disconnection. The legislation has been widely opposed, but complaints have fallen mostly on deaf ears. Today the head of one New Zealand’s largest ISPs added his personal dissenting voice to the mix in an announcement which criticizes the legislation, the outdated business models of the entertainment industries and lack of consumer choice. “TelstraClear respects copyright and supports the ability of rights owners to realise value from their intellectual property. But a business model that has to be propped up by specific legislation in this way is flawed and needs to change,” Freeth begins. TelstraClear has been opposing the 3 strikes legislation for some time. In 2009, TelstraClear said that following “an unprecedented large reaction from customers” it would not support a code of practise designed to support a “guilty upon accusation” law with which the company didn’t agree. The legislation was subsequently softened. But Freeth says that today, even with 3 strikes on the table, the legislation will fail to produce the effect required by copyright holders. “It may encourage parents to take more notice of what their kids are doing online, and that's a good thing,” he says. “But it won't stop those who really want content from getting it.” The problem, he notes, isn’t so much stopping piracy by force, but by giving customers the content they want. Freeth says that a 2009 TelstraClear survey showed that customers who download copyright content were not only “tired of paying too much, and waiting too long”, but viewed physical distribution models as outdated and out-of-touch. “These are the opinions of the 'now' generation, and the growing population that has never experienced the world without a TV, the internet, and the freedom this offers,” he says. “New Zealand's distance from the source of much content has been conquered by online access, but simply making it available online while retaining old price structures and wait times doesn't work.” Freeth highlights some interesting points from the survey which are potential positives for artists but not necessarily good news for their gatekeepers – the rights holders and distributors. “Respondents suggested building a stronger direct connection between the artist and end-user to reduce the old-world overheads and online purchase price,” says Freeth. Building stronger connections between artists and consumers is indeed an effective way to cut out the ‘middle-man’. But of course, it’s the middle-man that aggressively lobbied for this new legislation in the first instance in order to protect his business models. Freeth adds that their survey respondents were also keen to alter the focus of copyright law, to punish those who try to profit from infringement instead of targeting the consumer. “As stated, TelstraClear respects copyright, but we respect the ever-changing needs of our customers too. At present, they are being denied the freedom to choose by companies intent on propping-up old world business models. “Rather than investing in innovative ways to legally provide people with the content they want, whether music or movies, pictures or programmes, these companies choose to pressure governments into legislating.” In summing up, Freeth says that instead of bringing in useless laws the New Zealand government “should be breaking monopolies”, thereby creating an environment where citizens of the country can legitimately obtain content in a timely and cost-effective manner. “Instead,” he concludes, “it has chosen to introduce a law that could turn ordinary Kiwis into law-breakers.” Source: ISP CEO Slams Copyright Law and Outdated Business Models  |
With several new anti-piracy bills in the works, the MPAA and RIAA have ramped up their lobbying efforts in Washington. With more than a $5 million spend in the first half of 2011, this year might even break all previous records. 
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