“IFTA supports the introduction in the House of Representatives of bipartisan legislation making the Register of Copyrights a position nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Since the creation of the Register position, the copyright industries including the independent film and television industry which IFTA represents have grown to employ millions of Americans and contribute about 7% of the U.S. economy – over $1.2 trillion dollars to GDP. For the last 120 years, the Register has been an important leader in promoting the purpose of the Copyright Clause of the Constitution and Copyright Law promulgated since then which has allowed creativity to flourish to the benefit of America and the entire world to which we export our copyrighted works.”

 

“IFTA applauds the leadership of Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers, as well as Senate Judiciary Committee member Patrick Leahy, and Representatives Marino, Chu, Comstock, and Deutch, as early champions of Copyright Office modernization.”

 

 

The Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) is the global trade association of the independent motion picture and television programming industry. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization represents and provides significant entertainment industry services to more than 145 member companies from 22 countries, consisting of independent production and distribution companies, sales agents, television companies, studio-affiliated companies, and financial institutions engaged in content finance.

Collectively, the Independent Film & Television Alliance’s members produce more than 400 independent films and countless hours of television programming each year and generate more than $4 billion in distribution revenues annually. The organization’s premiere event, the American Film Market, held in conjunction with AFI Fest, takes place every year in November in Santa Monica.

 

As the voice and advocate for the independent film and television industry worldwide, the Alliance speaks out on matters of critical importance and, where appropriate, actively lobbies governments around the world in regard to measures directly affecting the independent industry. For more information on IFTA and the American Film Market, please visit www.ifta-online.org.