Blumenthal's canned letter and my canned response...... tell me what you think

Senator Richard Blumenthal senator@blumenthal.senate.gov to me

Dear Mr. Turel,

     Thank you for your thoughtful message regarding the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act ("PROTECT IP"). I appreciate hearing from you.

    

     Over recent weeks, I have listened closely to the concerns you and others have voiced regarding the PROTECT IP Act, as well as the Stop Online Piracy Act, which was being considered in the House of Representatives. My views have evolved as I have come to understand and share such concerns. While I remain committed to stopping online piracy, I will not vote for any legislation that could hinder innovation, freedom of expression, the right to free speech, or the architecture of the internet.

    

     I am grateful to you and others who have reached out to share insights and perspectives, which have been immensely valuable, and which have helped inform my thinking on this profoundly important issue. Many have cogently pointed to flaws and overreaching in the PROTECT IP Act. As I have said, my best ideas come from listening to the people of Connecticut, and this matter is no exception.  

    

     The challenge for all of us — and I welcome your further views on this issue — is to protect American property and jobs, but also promote American creativity and innovation, safeguarding the rights of everyone who uses the internet in good faith, without intent to engage in illegal acts. If you think we can eliminate online piracy, what do you see as alternatives to the proposals in the PROTECT IP Act, and how can they best be implemented?

    

     I hope you will visit my website and share your thoughts and suggestions. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you again for contacting me.

Sincerely,

Richard Blumenthal
United States Senate

click below for my response

Im sorry but you'll eliminate online piracy like we'll eliminate an overspending, over taxing, non-lobbyist government; meaning we won't.

It can't happen, and unfortunately this is an area where the government needs to step aside and realize we have more important issues at stake to fix and better things to waste money on. This will have to be something the MPAA and RIAA will have to take care of on their own. Let them look inward and devise newer better methods of cheaply getting content out to consumers instead of over charging for the same outdated technology.

Its been proven repeatedly that online piracy does not hurt retailers, and in fact helps in some cases where people end up purchasing products they find viable after they have been "pirated". A pirated movie or piece of software is a product that would never have been purchased in the first place so there is no true loss.

These companies need to reorganize and restructure their models. Take advantage of and embrace the wave of easily accessible internet products and realize that the ONLY way to fight piracy is to offer something better at a "reasonable price". Netflix, slacker, pandora, redbox, STEAM, Itunes, ETC are great examples of this. It is the companies own greed that hinders its evolution not the 10 MP3's someone downloaded, listened to once and would have never purchased. For companies to attempt to contort our personal rights with money that could have been well spent on innovation instead proves this.

Feel free to take this speech and use it. We as a people cant be forced, we have to be persuaded and to do that you have to earn our respect, or you can never earn our money. If you can offer something to someone worth paying for you will turn them into a consumer before they become a "pirate".

This is a problem the industry created and needs to figure out on their own, they are not "too big to fail".