Patrick Leahy: “I am glad that the Senate can today pass the ART Act, a piece of legislation that will help protect America's movies…”

“I am glad that the Senate can today pass the ART Act, a piece of legislation that will help protect America's movies from a form of piracy that has become all too prevalent. This legislation will provide law enforcement with another important tool in fighting the harms wreaked by intellectual property theft, which robs our innovators--not to mention all those working behind the scenes--of compensation owed to them for producing films that carry American culture around the globe. The Motion Picture Association of America estimates that the movie industry loses $3 billion worldwide to piracy each and every year. Too often, we think of movie piracy as a disease whose symptoms are manifest only in foreign territories. While it is true that much of the movie industry's losses occur due to lax intellectual property enforcement in countries where the authorities are either ill-equipped or disinclined to enforce creators' rights, there is much we can do in this country to get our own IP house in order.”