My Letter to Congress: S.978 Commercial Felony Streaming Act

I am writing as your constituent in the 5th Congressional district of Colorado. I oppose S.978 - Commercial Felony Streaming Act, and am tracking it using OpenCongress.org, the free public resource website for government transparency and accountability.

This bill does not make any sense to me because if this were to be come law, millions and millions of people daily, would be breaking it. You are basically calling all citizens of the United States pirates. Whether this passes or not, it doesn't really matter because people will never stop streaming videos that are under the music industry's definition of "copyright infringement." This won't stop just as teenagers will never stop have sex and people will never stop doing drugs. Studies show that the best way to combat piracy is to provide a service that pirates can't resist. Creating a nanny-state will not clear up piracy.

99% of users on OpenCongress.org, a free, non-partisan resource, oppose S.978.

Sincerely,
Evan Friesen

Thank you for your email. Your concerns and questions are important to me, and I will be back in touch with you shortly with an answer. As always, you are welcome to contact my staff for further assistance in Colorado Springs at (719) 520-0055 or in Washington, D.C. at (202) 225-4422.

Sincerely,

Doug Lamborn
Member of Congress

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Dear Friend:

Thank you for your e-mail message. Keeping in touch with Coloradans is important to me. Due to the high volume of messages my office receives on a daily basis, I ask for your patience as I work with my staff to respond to your concerns.

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Thank you for contacting me.

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Dear Evan:

Thank you for contacting me regarding S.978, a bill to amend the criminal penalty provision for criminal infringement of a copyright. I appreciate hearing from you.

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota introduced a bill to strengthen copyright laws to include tougher penalties for online piracy on May 12, 2011. This legislation would set the penalties for those who willfully participate in online piracy of copyrighted content equal to those who engage in the bootlegging of tangible goods on the street corner. The bill was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by voice vote and now awaits consideration by the full Senate.

I strongly support safeguarding the intellectual property of all Americans. Intellectual property rights are vital to our economy. Every day that intellectual property is insufficiently safeguarded, American businesses stand to lose billions of dollars that result in the loss of thousands of jobs due to copyright infringement and the sale of counterfeit goods. As you may know, I supported the American Invents Act (S.23), which passed the Senate. This legislation would streamline the patent application process, establish new rules to protect inventors and eliminate unworthy patents, and create consistency for all applicants and patent owners in the application and litigation processes. It provides for the first significant changes to the nation?s patent system in nearly 60 years, and in the process creates jobs and boosts the economy without adding a dime to the deficit. On June 23, 2011, the House of Representatives passed similar legislation, and now these two versions must be reconciled.

The advent of the Internet has led to countless cultural and economic benefits, and American entrepreneurs should be able to market their products and services online without fear of illegal imitation or distribution. However, the Internet is an open forum for people to freely share content, and I believe it should remain that way as long as it is done in accordance with our laws.

Please rest assured that I will keep your thoughts and concerns in mind should this bill come before the full Senate for consideration.

I value the input of fellow Coloradans in considering the wide variety of important issues and legislative initiatives that come before the Senate. I hope you will continue to inform me of your thoughts and concerns.

For more information about my priorities as a U.S. Senator, I invite you to visit my website at http://bennet.senate.gov/. Again, thank you for contacting me.


Sincerely,

Michael Bennet
United States Senator

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