Filings
Office of the United States Trade Representative (USPTO)
Office of the United States Trade Representative (USPTO)
Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
On January 17, 2020, we filed comments in response to a Federal Register Notice issued by USTR about two pending anti-copyright Bills in South Africa and the resulting review by USTR of the country’s participation in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
USTR initiated the review of South Africa’s participation in the GSP as a result of a formal complaint by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) about the pending Bills.
United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
On August 20, 2019, we joined the DGA, IFTA, MPA, and SAG-AFTRA in filing comments with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These comments were in response to the Presidential Memorandum on Combatting Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirate Goods. We requested that the final report stemming from the memorandum, and any resulting Administration action, address online piracy in addition to the counterfeiting and piracy of hard goods.
United States Department of Commerce (DOC)
On July 29, 2019, we joined with the MPA, IFTA, and SAG-AFTRA to file comments with the United States Department of Commerce in response to their request for submissions on the following topic: “Report on the State of Counterfeit and Pirated Goods Trafficking, and Recommendations.” We confirmed that the unauthorized distribution of movie and television content on the internet has overshadowed the unauthorized dissemination of such content on physical media, and emphasized the harms this situation poses to both content creators, and local and national economies.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
On April 7, 2019 we filed comments with the FTC in anticipation of the thirteenth event of their ongoing “Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century.” That event, The FTC’s Approach to Consumer Privacy, focused on the impacts of privacy legislation and policy. Given the impact of GDPR on the WHOis database’s transparency and our industry’s subsequent ability to identify and pursue pirate site operators, we spoke to the practical impact this change has had on the ongoing health of our creative communities. Copyright Alliance and the Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA) signed with us.
Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
On January 15, 2019 we filed comments with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in anticipation of their upcoming U.S.-UK bilateral trade agreement negotiations. As a result of our involvement in the Digital Creators Working Group (DCWG), a monthly gathering of pro-copyright advocates with an interest in digital trade originally convened by the RIAA, we were encouraged to file in this matter. We encouraged an alliance between the U.S. and U.K. that would fully realize a potential global precedent for intellectual property protection that could drive creative industries in both countries for decades to come.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
On December 21, 2018, CreativeFuture filed comments with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to a panel discussion on October 23, Competition Policy and Copyright Law, at the fourth event of their ongoing “Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century.” We emphasized the government’s crucial role in establishing and enforcing copyright protections that advance innovation, to explain the role of copyright in advancing, protecting, and supporting innovation, and to urge the Federal Trade Commission to continue examining the practices of large internet platform providers, as well as other enterprises, that use the internet to promote all forms of piracy.
United States International Trade Commission (USITC)
On December 20, 2018, we filed comments with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) in response to their request for submissions on the following topic: “United States- Mexico-Canada Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy and on Specific Industry Sectors.” We argued for the importance of seeking a gold standard for copyright and intellectual property protections in all free trade agreements.
Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC)
On November 13, 2018, we filed comments with the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) to assist in preparing their newest three-year Joint Strategic Plan. We emphasized the harm to competition caused by piracy, especially newer technologies like Illicit Streaming Devices. We also asked the IPEC to continue their advocacy for harmonizing criminal penalties for downloading and streaming.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
On August 20, 2018, we filed comments with the Federal Trade Commission following their request for submissions in anticipation of the “Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century Hearings” (Project Number P181201) that began on September 13 and will run through January 2019. We filed these comments to highlight how our creative communities are victimized by the unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practices that continue to be rampant on the internet and are facilitated by a variety of large internet platforms.
United States International Trade Commission (USITC)
On August 15, 2018, we filed comments with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in response to their request for submissions on two different inquiries: Global Digital Trade 2: The Business-to-Business Market, Key Foreign Trade Restrictions, and U.S. Competitiveness as well as Digital Trade 3: The Business-to-Consumer Market, Key Foreign Trade Restrictions, and U.S. Our comments emphasized that our ability to compete globally through digital markets is undermined everyday by a massive piracy ecosystem, making strong copyright protections in Free Trade Agreements all the more important.
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
On July 17, 2018, CreativeFuture filed in response to a call for comments from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. NTIA’s Notice of Inquiry on International Internet Policy Priorities solicited comments about global internet policies, specifically referencing the importance of the “free flow of information.” Our comments reinforced the fact that copyright and free speech are mutually reinforcing, and that the “free flow of information” is not impeded by restricting access to copyright-infringing material.
Letters
Letter to Senators Durbin and Graham
On July 14, 2023, we sent a letter to Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Dick Durbin and Ranking Member Lindsey Graham asking them to give appropriate and needed attention to the flourishing global piracy ecosystem. The letter was cosigned by CreativeFuture’s CEO Ruth Vitale and the Independent Film & Television Alliance’s (IFTA) CEO Jean Prewitt on behalf of all of our members.
Letter to Senators Tillis and Leahy on SMART Act
On April 4, 2022, we signed a letter drafted by the Copyright Alliance to Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) thanking them for their introduction of the Strengthening Measures to Advance Rights Technologies (SMART) Copyright Act of 2022.
Letter to the 117th Congress
On March 8, 2021, we sent a letter to members of the 117th Congress, signed by over 350 members of the creative communities. The letter asked the lawmakers to support strong and effective copyright laws and to hold the world’s biggest internet companies accountable for illicit content hosted on their platforms.
Letter to President Joe Biden
On February 22, 2021, we sent a letter to President Biden, signed by over 350 members of the creative communities. The letter asked the President and his administration to support strong and effective copyright laws and to hold the world’s biggest internet companies accountable for illicit content hosted on their platforms.
Letter to the Biden Presidential Campaign
On October 9, 2020, we sent a letter to the Biden Presidential Campaign, signed by over 100 CreativeFuture members. The letter emphasized the importance of copyright to creative livelihoods and to the U.S. economy.
Letter to Senator Thom Tillis
On September 1, 2020, we signed a letter drafted by the Motion Pictures Association to Senator Thom Tillis, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. The letter thanked the Senator for leading successful discussions to forge consensus legislation to close the “streaming loophole.”
Letter to the United States Trade Representative
On August 6, 2020, we signed a letter drafted by the Digital Creators Coalition to the United States Trade Representative. The letter was signed by 30 groups, including IFTA, MPA, and RIAA.
The letter advised that any copyright safe harbor provision incorporated into a U.S.-U.K. Trade Agreement should eschew detailed obligations and overly prescriptive text. The letter also expressed that any safe harbor language in the Agreement should be short and high-level, broadly reflecting the goals of the different systems.
Letter to the Senate Judiciary IP Subcommittee
On June 2, 2020, the Senate Judiciary IP Subcommittee held a hearing hearing to review the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s Notice and Takedown System in a modern context.
On June 9, 2020, we submitted a letter to the subcommittee explaining how the Notice and Takedown System disproportionately favors large online platforms that profit from digital piracy over independent creators.
Letter to the Senate Judiciary IP Subcommittee
On February 11, 2020, the Senate Judiciary IP Subcommittee held the first hearing of planned monthly hearings to review the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The day before the hearing, the Electronic Frontier Foundation sent an eight-page letter to the Subcommittee portraying the law as an unbalanced piece of legislation favoring the largest copyright owners.
In response, we submitted a letter on March 2 to the Subcommittee, pointing out the hypocrisy in EFF’s basic premise.
Letter to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
In early October 2019, the House Energy & Commerce Committee scheduled an October 16 hearing, Fostering a Healthier Internet to Protect Consumers. The hearing would focus on the CDA Section 230 and the effect of the law on the current health of the internet.
The week before the hearing, Committee staff approached CreativeFuture with a request for a submission similar to the letter we sent to the House Antitrust Subcommittee in July. On October 14, 2019, we submitted a letter along with our two FTC filings, our filing with the USITC, and the bipartisan bicameral letter sent to Google CEO Sundar Pichai in September.
Letter to the Embassy of the United States in South Africa
On March 4, 2019, we signed a letter drafted by the DCWG to the American Embassy in South Africa. The letter was signed by ten groups, including IFTA, MPA, and RIAA.
After adding our signature to the letter, we were asked to have a phone call with Andres Bascumbe, Legislative Counsel for Rep. Maxine Waters (D, CA-43), detailing our specific concerns as pertains to members of the creative communities. Mr. Bascumbe emailed to tell us that this led to Rep. Waters reaching out to the relevant South African officials.
Letter to the 116th United States Congress
On February 5, 2019, we sent a letter to every Member of Congress stressing the importance of copyright to our communities.
Letter to the House and Senate Judiciary and Commerce Subcommittees
On July 17, 2018, we sent a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees and the House Judiciary and Energy and Commerce Committees. The letter was co-signed by CreativeFuture and IFTA, along with 154 signatures from some of the most prominent (and prolific) working producers, directors, and writers in the industry. This letter called on the Committees to continue their scrutiny of Silicon Valley.
Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee
On May 14, 2018, in response to a request from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), we wrote a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee to express our support for the pending Music Modernization Act legislation before the Committee.
Letter to Chairmen and Ranking Members of Congressional Committees
In April, 2018, we penned a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the relevant Congressional Committees that questioned Mark Zuckerberg on April 10 and 11: Senate Judiciary; Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation; House Judiciary; and House Energy and Commerce. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM), the Content Creators Coalition (c3), and the Independent Film and Television Association (IFTA) added their signatures to it.