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The Coalition of entertainment unions in the US* remains committed to fight for better protection of their member’s works on the Internet after the vote of two important anti-piracy bills have been suspended. Lawmakers gave in to pressures from the Internet industry and various activists’ groups who claim that the bills would lead to censorship on the net.



In a joint statement the unions & guilds underline the importance for effective enforcement of intellectual property rights in the digital environment and call for a true and open debate on how to guarantee creativity and freedom of speech on the Internet:



“We fought for this legislation because illegal Internet businesses that locate offshore expressly to elude US laws should not escape the very same rules of law that currently apply to illegal US websites – they should not be allowed to reap in profits if they knowingly sell or distribute illicitly gained content and goods which they had no role in creating or financing to the American consumer.



We recognize that we are currently part of a complex and important debate about the future, not just of the Internet but also of creativity, the American economy, free expression, and a civil society. We believe that the light should be being shined on every aspect of this discussion and on all of those who have a stake in it. We believe we should discuss what an unregulated ‘free’ Internet means for the future of content, just as we should also discuss the importance of an open Internet. We welcome this debate. We hope a new tone can be set and it is not one that turns our advocacy for this legislation into an implication that we promote censorship. Our commitment to the First Amendment is decades old and long established – it is a matter of public record from long before the word ‘Internet’ was part of anyone’s vocabulary. If one truly embraces free expression, they do not take down the Library of Congress websites, the very symbol of our country’s belief in knowledge and learning. We would hope a new tone can be set that does not pit the creativity and innovation of our directors, actors, performers, craftspeople, and technicians against those innovators in other industries. We hope a new tone can be set that does not include website attacks, blacklists, blackouts, and lies. We believe an Internet that does not allow outright stealing has to be the Internet of the future or all the promises it holds will be unrealized.



We are committed to open debate. We are equally as committed to protecting our members’ ability to create and to earn a living while doing so. We will work with Chairmen Leahy and Smith to make both possible.”



To download the full statement and to get more information go to: www.dga.org and www.iatse-intl.org



At the same time Internet industry and activists continue a blackmailing strategy that misuses core human rights principles to defend legitimate business interests as well as a black market and its illegal businesses who make millions on the back of the creative workers. After the suspension of the vote the net.coalition that includes Google, Faceboock and Twitter, issued a statement that painted the entertainment unions as “union thughs” and warned that they will continue to attack the freedom of Americans. The activism reached a new apex with Internet activists groups protesting against the shutting down of Mega Upload, a service being legal on the surface made its real money thanks to the illegal distribution of audiovisual works – in the name of freedom of speech.



UNI MEI support the campaign of its affiliates and calls for building a global IP culture that embraces intellectual properties as a means to sustain creativity and creative industries in the digital environment.



* The coalition is composed of Federation of Musicians (AFM), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).