ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO R. GONZALES DISCUSSES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WITH L.A.-AREA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT ‘ACTIVATE YOUR MIND: PROTECT YOUR IDEAS’ PROGRAM

Department Of Justice Joined Court Tv And The Motion Picture And Television Industries To Present Anti-Ip Theft Television Program

LOS ANGELES, CA - Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today joined Court TV anchor Vinnie Politan to discuss the importance of protecting intellectual property (IP) with over 120 Los Angeles-area high school students during the filming of Activate Your Mind: Protect Your Ideas, a movie and television IP theft-prevention program sponsored by Court TV and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), in cooperation with the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Screen Actors Guild. The Attorney General spoke on the importance of promoting creativity in America, protecting creative works from theft, and the impact of stealing the creative works of others.

“The freedom to create intellectual property helped to build our nation, and protecting Americans’ creativity and innovation is essential to our continued growth,” said Attorney General Gonzales. “Intellectual property theft affects real jobs and real people. Today’s program will help young men and women to understand its impact and what they can do to encourage a respect for intellectual property in others.”

The Activate Your Mind: Protect Your Ideas initiative was launched on October 20, 2004 as part of the Department of Justice’s Task Force on Intellectual Property and its efforts to deter intellectual property theft through prevention. The first event, held at the Department’s Great Hall in Washington, D.C., featured then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and involved students, artists and law enforcement officials.

Today’s program, held at UCLA’s Bradley International Hall, included student discussions with movie and television artists, an FBI agent who specializes in IP theft investigations, and a convicted intellectual property offender. Students offered suggestions about resolving issues of illegal downloading of movies and TV programs, then participated in breakout sessions to develop their own ideas on ways to promote anti-IP theft efforts by creating advertising campaigns and other messages.

MPAA President and CEO Dan Glickman also delivered remarks about the enormous impact IP theft has on the entertainment business. The MPAA and its international counterpart, the Motion Picture Association, estimate that the U.S. motion picture industry loses $3.5 billion annually in potential worldwide revenue due to IP theft.

Court TV and the MPAA sponsored this multimedia educational event as part of Court TV’s “Choices and Consequences” educational initiative and in partnership with the Task Force on Intellectual Property. Court TV will produce a 30-minute television program that will be broadcasted on its cable network and distributed to high school classrooms throughout the United States. Participants in the program and the national educational initiative also include Constitutional Rights Foundation; I-SAFE, Inc.; and Street Law, Inc.

The participating high schools, representing a diverse group of students drawn from the Los Angeles area, include Belmont High School, in Los Angeles; City Honors High School, in Inglewood; Mira Costa High School, in Manhattan Beach; and New Roads High School, in Santa Monica.

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