For Immediate Release

Contact: Judith Platt

Ph: 202-220-4551

Publishers Praise Congressional Attention to Intellectual Property Enforcement

Washington, DC, December 13, 2007:   The U.S. publishing industry expressed enthusiasm about recent moves in the House of Representatives to strengthen intellectual property protection and enhance the resources available to the federal government for this purpose.  The bipartisan effort has most recently yielded the proposed “Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO IP) Act of 2007,” which was the subject of hearings this morning before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property.  The bill strengthens measures for enforcement against intellectual property theft and infuses welcome additional resources into the ongoing Administration efforts against piracy and counterfeiting at home and abroad. 

Former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, expressed the publishing industry’s thanks to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX), who joined with 10 other members of the House to introduce the bill last week. “We’re particularly gratified that support for America’s creative industries crosses party lines, geographical boundaries, and political philosophies. American jobs and America’s competitive edge depend on our ability to protect our creative resources.  This legislation goes a long way in strengthening that protection.”

AAP looks forward to participating in further discussions as the bill progresses, and to working with Congress and the Administration in the ongoing fight against copyright piracy and other forms of intellectual property theft.

AAP is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry.  The association’s approximately 300 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of intellectual freedom, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the association's primary concerns.

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