Campaign for Unity recognizes that film piracy destroys revenue opportunity for SAG members. Last year, according to the Motion Picture Association, three billion dollars in industry revenue was lost due to copyright violations in optical disc and videocassette copying, illegal camcording in theaters, and theft of theatrical prints and cable signals. This estimated economic loss does NOT include loss due to internet piracy. Because the internet provides so many transfer and download opportunities, it may magnify the impact of piracy exponentially.

Piracy's effect upon screen performers is extensive and multi-faceted. Pre-release or pirating of newly released films reduces audience revenue. As Peter Jackson said recently, "Piracy has the very real potential of tipping movies into becoming an unprofitable industry, especially big event films. [....] No studio is going to finance a film if the point is reached where their possible profit margin goes straight into criminals' pockets." (NYT, 8/28/05, BU1). "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace" © suffered losses from pirated copies of camcordings, which reduced expected revenue from international distribution. (Source: MPAA). Screen performers need film production to remain profitable, for everyone - actors, voiceover artists, production crews and studios.

Performers who receive residuals and other forms of revenue-sharing through subsequent tape or disc sales, suffer when demand declines for rental and purchase of videocassettes and discs, and cable viewing. Piracy can unfairly advantage international film production over American productions, since a failure to enforce international anti-piracy agreements may disproportionately impact animation and large budget films.

Finally, MPAA reports that U.S. films are shown in 150 countries, and American television programs in more than 125 broadcast markets. This creates both dependence upon international distribution revenue, and vulnerability to piracy in markets that do not police such forms of theft.

Campaign for Unity supports the efforts by the Motion Picture Association of America, the international Motion Picture Association, and the U.S. Congress, to prevent and punish film piracy. Campaign for Unity supports:

1) Continued protection and enforcement of the Copyright Act of 1976, with the 1982 Act amendments, along with the No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act), and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

2) Additional protections against internet piracy in the forthcoming amendments to the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

3) Continued private and public support for international anti-piracy agreements, such as the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention, the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties.

4) Public funding for research into digital copyright protection, such as the Content Scrambling System, and effective digital encryption coding of satellite-broadcast films and television programs. There are a number of benefits to the U.S.being a leader in this field beyond the screen performance community.

5) State anti-piracy legislative efforts, such as "truth in labeling" laws and "True Name and Address" statutes.

Finally, Campaign for Unity supports educational efforts of young people as to how piracy devastates independent film productions and the careers of emerging artists. In short, piracy is not "cool." It is a crime that hurts artists who speak for their generation. Campaign for Unity intends to speak for those artists by protecting them against intellectual property theft.