The letter was signed by more than 40 organisations and companies that represent artists’ rights, including the Copyright Alliance, the Recording Industry Association of America, Motion Picture Association of America and the Association of American Publishers.
Referencing a letter sent to President Obama on April 2 by consumer rights groups such as Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the authors agreed with the assertion that presidential appointees should “promote innovation and advance the cause of progress in the sciences and useful arts”, adding: “That is absolutely the right approach for any public official tasked with promoting intellectual property protection, and we feel that your appointees to date have reflected that philosophy.”
However, the letter went on to criticise the authors of the April 2 letter for implying that the president “must choose between safeguarding IP protection on the one hand and promoting innovation on the other”:
“This supposed conflict is itself an invention, and we must avoid the false dichotomy that suggests that there is a conflict between the rights of authors and inventors and the need for innovation or creativity. Intellectual property drives innovation and creativity, from the production of new creative works to the development of consumer electronics and medicine.”
The April 2 letter also criticised Obama’s choice of several IP policy appointees to the Department of Justice who have previously represented the recording industry. These include former Jenner & Block partners Tom Perrelli and Don Verrilli and former Business Software Alliance general counsel Neil MacBride. It said: “The fact that these individuals were litigators rather than registered lobbyists does not diminish the possibility that they may be inclined favourably towards the positions of the industries they long represented.”
But last week’s letter backed Obama’s personnel choices and expressed optimism about future appointments. The Copyright Alliance’s executive director Patrick Ross said in a statement: “We stand together in appreciation of policy leaders who understand the importance of intellectual property rights to our livelihoods and to America’s economy.”
Open IP-related presidential appointments include the newly created post of Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator and the position of USPTO director.
