Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has received one of the Motion Picture Association of America's inaugural awards, specifically the Industry Champion Award.
That came at a ceremony Tuesday night in Washington, where MPA is headquartered.
Tillis has been in the news lately over his threat--still in effect--to put a hold on the nomination of Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, in part because of her past stands on fair use carveouts from copyright laws as head of Public Knowledge.
Back in November, Tillis (R-N.C.), ranking member of the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee, asked President Biden to withdraw Sohn's nomination, saying he had many concerns but that copyright was chief among them.
MPA said Tillis was being honored for "the profound impact he has had on America’s creative industry, including his work to ensure fairness within the American copyright system, to support the contributions the creative community makes to the American economy, and for leading efforts such as the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act (PLSA) to ensure that intellectual property rights have meaning," MPA said.
"I am proud to stand up for the rights of the creative community," said Tillis.
The awards will become an annual event. In addition to Tillis, another Industry Champion award went to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy for his expansion of the New Jersey Film & Digital Media Tax Credit, an MPA Creator Award to writer-director Nikyatu Jusu, and a Lifetime Achievement Award to retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) for his "unwavering commitment to intellectual property rights and copyright protection" in his eight terms in the Senate.
“I have always felt that the brilliance of artists and filmmakers deserves protection from those who attempt to unfairly profit off their hard work,” said Leahy." ■
