I appreciate this opportunity to present the Motion Picture Association of America's views on assessing consumer access to digital entertainment and the threat of Internet piracy.
Motion pictures are also intellectual property.
The Internet and other electronic commerce media create tremendous opportunities for MPAA member companies' to market their intellectual property. The Internet also provides vast new viewing opportunities for consumers. Motion pictures are affordably priced so that everyone can see a picture. Affordable pricing is possible because of the multiple markets in which the producers can amortize the cost of production, including theaters, DVDs, home video, pay TV, free TV, etc. If these markets are destroyed because films are placed illegally on the Internet or transmitted electronically without adequate protection, the result will be an increase in price, a degradation in production values and a reduction in viewing options for consumers.