On June 29, the DGA PAC Leadership Council hosted a lunch and discussion with one of the most influential lawmakers in Washington, D.C. —
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Now in his fifth term, Senator Hatch serves as Chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee and has been a strong advocate of the protection of intellectual property and copyright law. Aware that the Senator is also an author and songwriter, the Leadership Council welcomed him to the DGA — as Co-chair Taylor Hackford put it, "not only as a lawmaker, but also as a fellow creator."
The meeting was particularly timely because Congress is now considering a number of bills covering a range of issues of vital importance to the DGA. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and senior member of the Finance Committee, Senator Hatch plays a key legislative role in shaping and passing current legislation on copyright protection, piracy, content protection and runaway production.
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Copyright Protection/Piracy
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The Senate Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over copyright protection, piracy and content control issues. Thus, as Chairman Senator Hatch helps set the legislative agenda with respect to the creative and economic protection of directors' works. He works closely on these issues with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who is the ranking Minority member of Judiciary (and who also met with the Leadership Council earlier this year —
DGA Magazine, May 2004).
In June, Senators Hatch and Leahy introduced one of the most significant copyright initiatives in many years, S. 2560: the "Inducing Infringement of Copyright Act of 2004." This legislation represents the first major effort on the part of Congress to address the problem of digital piracy through peer-to-peer networks. To underscore the importance of this legislation, Senators Bill Frist and Tom Daschle (Senate Majority Leader and Senate Democratic Leader, respectively) are also co-sponsors. The unique aspect of this legislation is that it shifts copyright enforcement, for the first time, away from the end-users (consumers) to those who actually encourage or 'induce' the infringement (peer-to-peer products such as Kazaa and Grokster). It is an important piece of legislation for the Guild, as its passage would have major implications for the economic and creative protection of the work of directors and could prevent the type of widespread digital piracy that has devastated the music industry.
Two other major anti-piracy bills have passed through the Judiciary Committee this year. One introduced by Senators Hatch and Leahy is S. 2237: "The Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation Act of 2004" (PIRATE), which allows for civil copyright enforcement by the Department of Justice, and includes a training program for DOJ officials on the implementation and use of their authority for this kind of civil enforcement. The other is S. 1932: "Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention (ART) Act of 2003." This bill, co-sponsored by Senators Feinstein (D-CA) and Cornyn (R-TX), criminalizes the recording of a film or other audiovisual work in the theatre. Both bills have now been passed by the full Senate. The DGA worked hard to secure passage of these two bills. The Leadership Council made clear its appreciation of Senator Hatch's longstanding support for copyright protection and pledged to work hard for his new initiative, S. 2560. Said Hackford, "The introduction of this groundbreaking legislation co-sponsored by Senator Leahy addresses the real problem of Internet piracy for the first time, by putting the criminal intent where it rightly belongs — not on the consumer, but on the companies that create P2P networks and then knowingly entice the public, often teenagers and children, to infringe on our copyrights. We look forward to working together with you toward the passage of this legislation."
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Digital Filter Content Legislation
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The Leadership Council also discussed with Senator Hatch another form of piracy of great concern to the Guild — illegal editing and sale/rental of films without the permission of the copyright owner or the involvement of the directors. As most members are aware, the DGA and the studios are in litigation against a number of these for-profit companies who are editing, (or providing software that edits) selling and/or renting DVDs of their alternative versions of our members' films.
On June 16, Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX), who chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, introduced legislation, HR 4586, "The Family Movie Act of 2004." This legislation changes current copyright law to permit these for-profit companies to use technology, called digital content filters, to edit (in their words, "sanitize") the playback of a film — changing the intent of movies they didn't create and do not own. The bill passed the Subcommittee on July 8 and is headed to the full House Judiciary Committee.
While not taking a position when the House legislation was introduced, Senator Hatch made clear that it might be best for both sides to forge some sort of compromise. As he said to the Los Angeles Times, "The fastest and surest way to protect and promote family-friendly viewing rights is for artists and consumers to negotiate a mutually acceptable resolution." In his meeting with the Leadership Council, Senator Hatch articulated his full understanding of the issues at stake, as well as the implications of legislative action on all parties involved — creators, copyright holders and parents.
Senator Hatch is also the second-ranking GOP member on the Senate Finance Committee, which has oversight on the full range of tax policy issues. This means he is also very important and influential on the issue that has been the Guild's primary legislative initiative — runaway production. Last October, Senator Hatch voted for the passage of S.1637, the "Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act" (JOBS) bill.
This bill contains a specific runaway production provision that permits the more rapid recovery of costs for film production. The JOBS Act passed the U.S. Senate with our runaway provision included, on May 11 by a vote of 92-5. It was a great step forward for the Guild and the closest we have come to affecting runaway production on the federal level.
On June 17, the House passed a companion bill, which did not include the DGA's provision. The next step will be a House/Senate Conference Committee, and the Leadership Council discussed with Senator Hatch the Guild's efforts to ensure that the final Conference Legislation includes our runaway production provision.
Senator Hatch said he was well aware of the impact of runaway production in lost jobs and revenue in Utah, as well as in other states. While the Senate members of the Conference Committee had not been announced, it was possible that Senator Hatch could be named as a "conferee." The Leadership Council asked for the Senator's support in this effort, and he pledged to work with DGA. This was particularly timely since two weeks after the meeting, Senator Hatch was announced as a Senate Conferee on the JOBS Act.
The Senator graciously spent more than three hours discussing these and many other issues of interest to the Leadership Council members, including Senator Hatch's leading role in Congress as a supporter of Stem Cell Research. LC members present for the luncheon included: DGA President Michael Apted, Warren Beatty, Burt Bluestein, Hart Bochner, Bob Butler, Charles Carner, Thomas Carter, Martha Coolidge, Andrew Davis, Wolfgang Glattes, LC Co-chair Taylor Hackford, Randa Haines, Curtis Hanson, Victoria Hochberg, Rod Holcomb, Todd Holland, Bob Kozicki, Cleve Landsberg, Michael Lehmann, Peter Levin, Robert Markowitz, David Nutter, Daniel Petrie, Betty Thomas, Jon Turteltaub and Carl Weathers.
This influential Republican Senator — respected and admired in Washington for his legislative knowledge and strength of conviction, as well has his ability to work with his Democratic colleagues, made a strong impression on the Leadership Council members who were able to hear firsthand about his strong support for copyright protection and artists' rights. After the meeting, Senator Hatch said how excited he was to have had this kind of frank exchange of views with such prominent members of the creative community, whose input is essential in developing many of the bills before the Judiciary Committee. Leadership Council Co-chair Taylor Hackford summed up the general feeling of the members present after the meeting ended. "The Senator was candid and forthcoming about the significant issues important to our membership, demonstrating that he is an elected official who cannot be pigeonholed. We look forward to the same open dialogue between us as issues that affect our members come before his Committees and the United States Senate."
