Dan Glickman Reacts to Mary Bono Mack Address
Friday, February 1st, 2008 byGuest blog by Motion Picture Association of America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Glickman:
Earlier this week
stakeholders of the technology, communications and media related industries
gathered for the Fourth Annual State of the Net Conference. One of the
highlights of that event, in my view, was the keynote address made by
Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack championing the importance of intellectual
copyright preservation and protection, a cause that is crucial to America's
future place in the world in our developing digital economy.
Throughout
our nation's history, our country has always valued knowledge and innovation.
While our predecessors adapted to technological advances like the automobile,
radio, and television, today the extraordinary developments of the Internet
present us with a world of possibilities – affording us great opportunities,
while challenging us to adapt these advances in a way that safeguards our
ingenuity for the future.
It is my belief that America's future place
in the world will be far less dependent on the sweat of our brows, and much more
on the power and value created by our minds, particularly through our
copyrighted industries – computer software, publishing, music, and the industry
I represent, motion pictures. When tallied, these sectors together comprise
nearly 6.5% of the nation's gross domestic product and nearly 13% of our
economy's overall growth.
To ensure continued growth, we
must work actively to defend these industries and their products. As the film
business alone suffers billions of dollars of lost revenue worldwide each year
to intellectual property theft, it is evident that the task of protecting these
sectors is vital. I commend Representative Bono Mack and other congressional
leaders who share our commitment to protecting copyright and thus our country's
future prosperity.
