DPE Commends USTR’s Report on Notorious Markets for Highlighting the Impact Content Theft has on Creative Professionals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Katie Barrows
Communications Director
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2023 - Today, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its latest report that highlights prominent and illustrative examples of online and physical markets that reportedly engage in, facilitate, overlook, or benefit from substantial copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting. Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning released the following statement in response to the report, the 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy:
“I commend Ambassador Tai and USTR for using the 2022 Notorious Markets List to examine the impact online content theft has on U.S. workers. Additionally, I appreciate the report’s acknowledgment that this is an issue directly affecting the members of DPE’s affiliate unions in the arts, entertainment, and media industries.
Union creative professionals rely on adequate and effective copyright protection to earn a fair return on their work. Many members of DPE’s affiliate unions in the arts and entertainment industries earn collectively bargained pay and contributions to their health insurance and pension plans from the sales and licensing of films, TV shows, music, and other content they help create. Revenue from authorized sales and licensing also funds the projects of tomorrow that union creative professionals count on for future jobs. As the 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy makes clear, content theft is pervasive and it hurts working people.
DPE remains ready to support USTR and the Biden-Harris Administration as they pursue a worker-centered trade policy that provides the strong copyright protections that middle-class creative professionals need to secure their livelihoods in today’s digital era. ”
About DPE
The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.