[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Pages 32345-32346]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I had the opportunity to take my wife Karyn 
to the Kennedy Center Honors, which is an annual tradition here. It is 
really a remarkable evening--a 2-day event--where America celebrates 
cultural icons. Most of them have been recognized before. But in that 
special gathering and in that beautiful building, the Kennedy Center, 
it takes on a really special meaning I think for us in this body, in 
the U.S. Congress, for those of us here in Washington, but indeed for 
people around the world as they see it replayed just after, I think, 
December 26.

[[Page 32346]]

  While I was there, I couldn't help but to reflect as I watched one of 
country music's greats, Loretta Lynn, receive her honor. An issue that 
affects the State of Tennessee but indeed which affects people 
throughout the United States of America deals with intellectual 
property rights.
  The State of Tennessee is known the world over for its vibrant 
musical heritage. It is the home of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country 
Music Hall of Fame. Indeed, Tennessee has produced some of the greatest 
popular pioneers of all time. Indeed, Tennessee has produced Elvis 
Presley, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and the list goes on. 
Those who grew up in Nashville had that opportunity to go by on a 
regular basis and experience the music at the wonderful Ryman 
Auditorium, where the Grand Ole Opry was housed for so many years.
  In the next few weeks, we will have the pleasure of hearing 
renditions of many of these artists with their Christmas carols played 
over the airwaves all across this country and even all across this 
globe, in shopping malls just about everywhere the holidays are 
celebrated.
  The music community that creates these opportunities and this joy is 
being threatened. In these closing minutes, I bring that to the 
attention of my colleagues. It is being threatened by those who love it 
so much, who appreciate it so much; that is, the millions of people who 
are downloading billions of illegal music files.
  I have had the privilege of meeting diverse groups of leaders from 
the music community on several occasions, but the focus has been to 
discuss the effects of piracy on the music industry. It is huge. It is 
far reaching. It is the artist, it is the record companies, it is the 
performing rights organizations, it is the publishers. The bottom line 
is clear: Piracy is greatly impacting the music community. The 
situation is, indeed, growing worse. Online music piracy is out of 
control.
  Currently, every month, 2.6 billion music files are downloaded 
illegally using peer-to-peer networks. It is not unusual for albums to 
show up on the Internet before they make it to the record stores. The 
music industry is losing $4 billion a year to piracy, and that dollar 
figure is growing every day. Most alarming, there is an entire 
generation of young Americans who believe that downloading online music 
is acceptable, it is the norm, it is legal, like being your own 
personal DJ without ever having to buy a CD.
  Piracy affects more than just the music industry. It affects that 
larger element of intellectual property. It includes the movie 
industry, it includes the software industry. Indeed, the numbers are 
staggering. According to a report released by the International 
Intellectual Property Alliance, U.S. copyright industries--and that 
includes music, movies, books, and software--contributed $535 billion 
to the U.S. economy in 2001. They collectively employ over 4.7 million 
workers. They generate almost $900 billion in foreign sales, making 
intellectual property one of our largest exports.
  Other countries often do not respect our copyright laws. They allow 
mass copying of music and other works. For example, it is estimated 
that an astounding 92 percent of business software used in China is 
pirated. In my travels to Asia several months ago, I directly stressed 
the importance of protecting our copyright laws to the leaders of China 
and Taiwan and Korea, the countries I visited. Copyright pirating is 
costing our economy billions. As leaders, we must educate the public 
that illegally downloading music or copyrighted material is stealing, 
straight and simple. Most people would never steal a CD from Wal-Mart, 
but they do not think twice before burning a CD from illegally 
downloaded music. People forget that an artist's song is just like a 
baker's loaf of bread; it is their creation; it is their livelihood.
  While the future of the music industry lies with the merging 
technology, the industry simply cannot survive if Internet piracy 
steals its value any more than a shop owner can survive having their 
inventory stolen from under him or her every week or a restaurant owner 
can afford in some way to serve meals for free.
  Eventually, unabated piracy will dry up income. It drives away the 
creative spirit. It drives away artists. It destroys the enterprise of 
making recorded music. Fewer artists, less music. It is that simple. 
Less music on our airwaves, on the Internet, in the public square, any 
place you can think of where recorded music is played and enjoyed, 
including on your own Walkman when you jog or run. Piracy ends up 
hurting us all, music lovers and music creators alike.
  I ask my colleagues to watch this issue closely. We can help educate 
the public about both the illegality of piracy and its effect on our 
economy and our creative culture. It is our responsibility to do so. 
And we can encourage consumers to download music from legitimate online 
fee services. There are several sites that are up and running, and I 
encourage the industry to continue to work hard to improve their online 
products to meet consumer demand. There is no better time to reflect on 
the impact of American recorded music than during these holidays. When 
we hear Bing Crosby's ``White Christmas'' or Duke Ellington's ``Jingle 
Bells'' or Burl Ives's ``Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,'' we are 
hearing not just another American Christmas classic but a part of 
America's creative legacy, the recorded music industry, one of our 
greatest exports to the world.

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