The National Association of Broadcasters is supporting S.
968, the PROTECT IP act introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that cracks
down on web sites distributing content illegally, particularly internationally.
In a letter to Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and ranking member
Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), NAB President and former senate colleague Gordon
Smith said the legislation would help broadcasters protect their digital
signals and content.
Smith said among the ways that intellectual property theft hurts broadcasters
is through illegal transmissions of live or recorded broadcasts, sale of DVD
copies of shows broadcast or distributed online, and theft of satellite
signals.
Smith also pointed out that international sites are taking a bite out of the
back end of syndicated shows and movie packages, for whom international
distribution rights are "essential revenues."
