Live from the World Copyright Summit: Senator Orrin Hatch
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 by Patrick RossWASHINGTON – An acclaimed songwriter opened CISAC’s 2nd World Copyright Summit here today, and that songwriter happens to be a U.S. Senator. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) once again was charming, informed, thoughtful and inspiring in his speech. Once again he was a passionate supporter of creators and copyright owners, and told the 500 or so international delegates here that he has been, and always would be, their champion: “As I hope you can tell, the protection of intellectual property has been and is one of my top priorities in the Senate.” Here are some more insights:
Appallingly, many believe that if they find it on the Internet then it must be free. I have heard some estimates cite no less than 80 percent of all Internet traffic comprises copyright-infringing files on peer-to-peer networks.
That is why the Pirate Bay case is so important. While the decision does not solve the problem of piracy and unauthorized file sharing, it certainly is a legal victory and one that sends a strong message that such behavior will not be tolerated. We can and must do more.
The Senator articulated how important the copyright industries are to our economic growth and job creation, and our balance of trade. But he also talked movingly about the motivation copyright plays in the creation of new works, such as musical compositions. He talked about his first ASCAP royalty check, and spoke eloquently about how important it is for creators to be able to pursue compensation for their works. He acknowledged not everyone makes a whole lot, or even much at all – he said he learned that many songwriters will never receive a royalty check. But they were very supportive of his modest payment; they all are aspiring to that goal themselves.
Preserving this right – a right to pursue compensation for one’s creativity – is something the Senator not only recognizes but champions.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:58 am
[...] Defining the Artist Live from the World Copyright Summit: Senator Orrin Hatch » [...]
June 11th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
[...] Copyright Alliance, a lobbying group for IP?rights holders (the ESA?is a member), applauded Hatch’s remarks: Orrin Hatch (R-UT) once again was charming, informed, thoughtful and inspiring in his speech. Once [...]
June 11th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
he also said this:
“On a side note, there is another benefit of stopping online piracy that is often overlooked. By reducing some of the infringing content online, the networks will be more efficient, thereby making more broadband capacity available for paying customers. ”
here’s an elected official with his finger on the pulse of his constituents. seriously, this ranks right up there with the late great senator stevens series of tubes idiocy.
boy, you guys bought yourself a winner here!
June 11th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Robin,
Thank you for your comment. Just to clarify, the Copyright Alliance has no PAC and makes no campaign contributions. Also, did you not read about how Senator Hatch is a songwriter and ASCAP member? I don’t think he needs any campaign donations to understand why copyright is important.
Also, there is nothing factually incorrect with his statement. Look at any study out there, and you’ll see that 60-90% of Internet traffic in infringement. But even if it were only 10%, if it were to go away (I know that is a technical impossibility) that means the network is that much faster for the remaining traffic. It’s addition and subtraction.
That level of traffic is why some ISPs have looked at metered pricing, because a power law curve is in effect where a handful of hardcore file-sharers are taking up most of the bandwidth, particularly in asymmetric upstream flows. There they aren’t targeting infringement per se, just trying to make the few bandwidth hogs be accountable for their clogging the “tubes,” although with some exceptions most who would have to pay more are infringing. I take no position on that possible business strategy by ISPs, but it is evidence of the problem of network congestion, and such congestion historically has scaled, so as broadband providers expand the pipe, the traffic simply expands with it.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Copyright Infringement is very bad, and can be restricted only by lowering the price…
Now The days Open source material is available. and that’s only way to stop violation of copyright…