May 25, 2011 TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE: The undersigned businesses, trade associations, and professional and labor organizations, representing a broad cross-section of the American economy, endorse S. 968, the "PROTECT IP Act of 2011" to protect American jobs and consumers. The time for action against those who use websites to make illegal profits by stealing the intellectual property (IP) of America's innovative and creative industries is now. These rogue sites are part of a network of counterfeiting and piracy that a study has found to cost 2.5 million jobs in the G20 economies. Many of these sites pose as legitimate businesses, luring consumers with sophisticated and well-designed websites. But, in reality, the counterfeit and pirated products these sites distribute are often of poor quality, harmful, and promote fraud. Further, consumers put themselves at risk of identity theft and malicious computer viruses by visiting these sites. The PROTECT IP Act is a major step to make the Internet safer and protect consumers from the dangers of rogue sites in the online marketplace. IP-intensive industries are a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, employing more than 19 million people and accounting for 60 percent of exports. Rampant online counterfeiting and piracy presents a clear and present threat that the U.S. must do more to address. A study examined approximately 100 rogue sites and found that these sites attracted more than 53 billion visits per year. That averages about 9 visits for every man, woman, and child on Earth. It is not surprising that global sales of counterfeit goods via the Internet from illegitimate retailers reached $135 billion in 2010. What's more, as a consequence of global and U.S.-based piracy of copyright products, the U.S. economy lost $58 billion in total output in 2007. The United States cannot and should not tolerate this criminal activity. As the studies show, the theft of American IP is the theft of American jobs. Rogue sites negatively impact the health and safety of American citizens. We urge you to approve the PROTECT IP Act and work with your colleagues in the House of Representatives to enact carefully balanced legislation this year. We look forward to working with you in support of that goal. Sincerely, 1-800 Contacts, Inc. 1-800-PetMeds ABRO Industries, Inc. Acushnet Company adidas America Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers Alliance of Visual Artists (AVA) 2 American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) American Board of Internal Medicine American Federation of Musicians American Made Alliance American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) American Society of Media Photographers Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative (ACAPI) Association of American Publishers (AAP) Association of Equipment Manufacturers Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Association of Test Publishers Autodesk, Inc. Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association Beachbody, LLC Beam Global Spirits & Wine Blue Sky Studios, Inc. Bose Corporation Brigid Collins Family Support Center Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Burberry Cascade Designs Incorporated CBS Corporation Cengage Learning CFA Institute Chanel USA Church Music Publishers Association Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP) The Collegiate Licensing Company/IMG College Comcast Corporation Commercial Photographers International Copyright Alliance Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Coty Inc. Country Music Association Dayco Products, LLC Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Dolce & Gabbana Dollar General Corporation Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) Eli Lilly and Company Entertainment Software Association (ESA) ERAI, Inc. The Estee Lauder Companies Evidence Photographers International Council Ex Officio Exxel Outdoors Far Bank Enterprises 3 Fashion Business Incorporated Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy Ford Motor Company Fortune Brands, Inc. Gemvision Corporation Gospel Music Association Governors America Corp. Graduate Management Admission Council Greeting Card Association (GCA) Guru Denim HarperCollins Publishers Harry Fox Agency Hastings Entertainment, Inc. ICM Distributing Company, Inc. IDS Publishing IEC Electronics corp. Imaging Supplies Coalition (ISC) Independent Distributors of Electronics Association (IDEA) Innate-gear Intellectual Property Owners Association International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) International Trademark Association (INTA) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Johnson & Johnson Kekepana International Services Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. Lexmark International, Inc. L'Or?al USA LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton Macmillan Major League Baseball Marmot The McGraw-Hill Companies Merck & Co., Inc. Messy Face Designs, Inc. MicroRam Electronics, Inc. Monster Cable Products, Inc. Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) Music Managers Forum-U.S. Nashville Songwriters Association International National Association of Broadcasters National Association of Manufacturers National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) National Basketball Association (NBA) The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) 4 National Football League (NFL) National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) NBCUniversal Nervous Tattoo Inc., dba Ed Hardy New Era Cap Co Inc News Corporation Nike, Inc. Nintendo of America Inc. Oakley, Inc. OpSec Security, Inc. Outdoor Industry Association Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) Outdoor Research, Inc Pacific Component Xchange, Inc. Perry Ellis International Personal Care Products Council Petzl America Pfizer Inc. Picture Archive Council of America (PACA) PING Premier League Production Music Association (PMA) Professional Photographers of America Quality Float Works, Inc. The Recording Academy (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Reebok International Ltd. Reed Elsevier Inc. Revlon Romance Writers of America (RWA) Rosetta Stone Inc. Schneider Electric SESAC, Inc. SG Industries, Inc. Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council SMT Corp. Society of Sport & Event Photographers Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) Sony Music Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment SoundExchange Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Sports Rights Owners Coalition Spyder Active Sports, Inc Stock Artist Alliance Stuart Weitzman Holdings, LLC Student Photographic Society 5 SunRise Solar Inc. Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. Tednologies, Inc. Tiffany & Co. The Timberland Company Time Warner Inc. Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Ultimate Fighting Championship Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Universal Music Group Uniweld Products Inc. Viacom Vibram USA, Inc W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Wal-Mart The Walt Disney Company Warner Music Group Winestem Company Xerox Corporation Zippo Manufacturing Company