These companies can suck it.
The group of companies listed below supports the seizure of domain names they dislike as well as the new COICA (Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act) censorship bill – which is immensely flawed. They have shown their support for these measures through a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder and ICE boss John Morton (with cc’s to VP Joe Biden, Homeland Security boss Janet Napolitano, IP Czar Victoria Espinel, Rep. Lamar Smith, Rep. John Conyers, Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Charles Grassley).
In the letter (posted below), the group of 43 companies tries to present internet censorship as something that benefits everyone and is not just a measure designed to protect their own business interests in an increasingly competitive environment.
We run companies large and small that represent diverse aspects of America’s intellectual property community. While our employees live in different regions of the country, and work to produce a variety of goods and services, they have several important things in common – they work hard, they are committed to quality and innovation and they welcome competition. However, allowing others to unfairly compete by stealing the ideas, innovations and intellectual property rights created by our employees cannot be tolerated. This theft diminishes our ability to keep and create jobs, and makes it far more difficult to attract the capital needed to invest in new products and services. In order to protect our free enterprise system, and the standard of living it has contributed to our nation, it is critical that we multiply our efforts to identify and punish the criminals who steal what we create and produce.
Thus, we appreciate the effort and energy behind Operation in Our Sites. The actions announced on November 29, 2010 once again demonstrated that, just as in the physical world, prosecutors and courts can judiciously assess evidence and distinguish between legitimate businesses and criminal enterprises that flout the law and profit from the ingenuity of others. We believe that the online marketplace can only work for consumers and creators if there is respect for property rights and the rule of law – and urge you to continue to act against the kinds of domains that you have targeted. Unfortunately, there are far too many sites stealing from our businesses but we believe that your efforts will drive consumers to the many legitimate online ventures and services that we have worked hard to foster and support.
We encourage you to work with your colleagues in the Administration and the Congress toward enactment of the principles central to S. 3804 – the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act. The legislation crafted by Senators Leahy and Hatch was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and will undoubtedly be reintroduced this congress. The proposal expounds upon the law enforcement techniques at the heart of “Operation In Our Sites” and will ensure that rogue sites cannot evade U.S. jurisdiction by escaping offshore to foreign-based registrars, registries and country codes in order to peddle stolen American intellectual property back into the U.S. market. In addition, the Leahy-Hatch proposal provides an entirely new level of protection for U.S. rights holders by establishing the legal framework necessary to disrupt the business models of the illicit, offshore sites by starving them of the financing, advertising and access to consumers upon which they depend. The carefully balanced measure would allow American law enforcement officials and U.S. courts to deny thieves the ability to use the Internet to enter the U.S. market and undermine our businesses while reaping financial gain for themselves.
We hope that you will continue dedicating resources to Operation in Our Sites and work toward the Obama Administration’s endorsement of the Leahy-Hatch legislation.
- Nike
- Achushnet
- Curb Music Publishing
- NBC Universal
- Viacom
- Callaway
- Cleveland Golf
- Rosetta Stone
- Activision
- Adidas Group
- Xerox
- Hastings Entertainment, Inc.
- Fortune Brands
- Coty Inc.
- EDGE Entertainment Distribution
- Oakley, Inc.
- PING
- Louis Vuitton
- D’Addario and Company
- Monster Cable Products, Inc.
- Tiffany and Co.
- Farouk Systems, Inc.
- Beam Global
- Chanel USA
- True Religion Apparel, Inc.
- Concord Music Group
- Village Roadshow Pictures
- National Basketball Association
- National Football League
- The Collegiate Licensing Company/IMG College
- Anderson Merchandisers
- Trans World Entertainment Corporation
- Timberland
- Major League Baseball
- Lightening Entertainment/Mainline Releasing
- Sierra Pictures
- Voltage Pictures LLC
- Worldwide Film Entertainment LLC
- Nu Image, Inc.
- Burberry Limited
- Big Machine Records
- The Little Film Company
- Columbia Sportswear Company
