Understanding IP Matters: Piracy Costs Up to $71 Billion Annually

"Stealing intellectual property (IP) assets such as music and movies diverts revenue away from American businesses, which leads to fewer jobs for a range of American workers in the entertainment industry. Some countries in the world actively address this pirating through enforcement of site blocking by their respective national Internet Service Providers. However, the United States is not one of them, in part due to governmental pressure from certain Big Tech companies."

"On the current episode of Understanding IP Matters (UIPM), Ruth Vitale, Hollywood producer, founder and co-president of Paramount Classics, and president of Fine Line Features, discusses her efforts to effect U.S. legislation that would allow for site blocking, thereby strengthening the entertainment industry and protecting U.S. consumers. As the entertainment industry is a top cultural exporter in the United States, this added protection and greater retained revenue would ensure this status continues and grows."

"Vitale's films have won three Oscars and received 16 Academy Award nominations, as well as 18 Golden Globe nominations. As president of production for Vestron Pictures, she broke new ground with the highest-grossing independent film of the time, "Dirty Dancing". Vitale is now CEO of CreativeFuture, a nonprofit coalition of more than 500 organizations and 300,000 individuals that support the value of creativity."

Stealing intellectual property such as music and movies diverts revenue away from American businesses and reduces jobs across the entertainment industry. Piracy costs the U.S. economy between $29 billion and $71 billion annually and eliminates between 230,000 and 560,000 jobs. Some countries enforce site blocking via national ISPs; the United States does not, partly due to governmental pressure from certain Big Tech companies. Ruth Vitale leads efforts to enact U.S. legislation permitting site blocking to strengthen the entertainment industry, protect consumers, and preserve the United States' role as a leading cultural exporter. Vitale's career includes multiple Oscar wins and leadership of CreativeFuture.

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