Less than a month into his new job as head of the Motion Picture Association of America, former Sen. Chris Dodd finds himself in the midst of another high-pitched battle.
This time the issue isn’t health care and financial reform. It’s copyright infringement, an ongoing tug-of-war since the advent of broadband internet access.
Members of the Motion Picture Association filed suit in a federal court in Los Angeles Monday, accusing a movie-rental web site, Zediva, of illegally streaming films online.
Zediva offers movies after they are available on DVD, but weeks before they are made available to other web sites, such as Netflix, that have studio licenses.
Chris Dodd
When Dodd delivered his first speech as MPAA chairman last week, he described movie piracy as “the single biggest threat we face as an industry.”
He called for stricter laws and more forceful enforcement, saying consumer education was key to preventing movie theft.
Lobbying efforts will also be a big part of the campaign. The MPAA reported spending nearly $1.7 million lobbying Congress in 2010. Legislation to rein in digital piracy was a prime concern.
After six years in the House and 30 years in the Senate, Dodd has many friends on Capitol Hill.
A former chief of staff, Rosa L. DeLauro, is now a member of the House. Her husband was a pollster for Dodd’s 2008 presidential campaign. Another former aide, Mark Warner, is now a U.S. senator with a seat on the Commerce Committee, which oversees copyright issues.
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