Tech Olive Branch From MPAA’s Dodd

MPAA chairman says tech industry, studios are all working toward shared goal

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/8/2012 12:01:00 AM

MPAA chairman Chris Dodd is holding out an olive branch to Silicon Valley after their bruising battle over piracy legislation. In a conversation at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club last week, according to prepared remarks, Dodd said he wanted to talk about where studios and the tech industry can go together, pointing out that all the studios MPAA represents have content deals with Google, which led the opposition to the MPAA-backed SOPA/PIPA piracy legislation that was scrapped.

“We call them audiences, you call them users, but giving them the best possible experience is a shared goal. In the end, we all report to the same people,” said Dodd. “I want you to know that our community is listening, continuously innovating and hungry for more. And we know we can’t do this without the work of the brilliant and creative technological minds behind these new devices, Internet platforms and other digital outlets.”

Dodd also suggested it was important to bury the digital hatchet and work together to effect seamless content sharing. “I’d love for the theme of today to be the continued cooperation of the two incredible industries that serve as California’s economic backbone and public face to the world. We have to break through the notion that this is a zero-sum game….”