Hill Event on Digital IP Issues
The House Caucus on Intellectual Property, along with the House Caucus on Entertainment, hosted today a roundtable discussion organized by International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI) on Verizon’s new FiOS TV and the implications this new service will have on combating digital copyright piracy.
The piracy of copyright-protected works over the Internet has grown exponentially in recent years. Some argue that this increase may be due in part to consumer frustration over having few legitimate options to receive the content they want, when they want it. Verizon has recently begun offering a new service that will provide a vast array of content on demand, and new opportunities for consumers to obtain and experience television programming. Services that better cater to consumer demand like Verizon’s FiOS may help to curb piracy.
Representatives Tom Feeney and Diane Watson gave introductory remarks on behalf of the House Caucus on Intellectual Property and the House Caucus on Entertainment, respectively. The luchenon then featured a demonstration of the technology by Terry Denson, Vice President for FiOS Programming at Verizon and a discussion of the implications this new technology may have on copyright piracy by Sarah Deutsch, Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Verizon. After the presentations, attendees had the opportunity to engage the speakers on intellectual property piracy, content licensing and other telecom matters.