Celebrities in the music, book and film industry request the German chancellor’s support in the protection of intellectual property

Berlin, 25th April 2008

On the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day, some 200 composers and musicians, writers and publishers, and actors and filmmakers issued an open letter asking the German chancellor to make the protection of cultural works in the digital world a “top priority”. “On the Internet in particular, millions of music tracks, films and audiobooks are illegally shared and downloaded without the creative minds behind these products getting fair compensation,” reads the letter, which was signed among others by Herbert Grönemeyer, Tokio Hotel, Thomas Quasthoff, Amelie Fried, Julia Frank, Andreas Langenscheidt, Til Schweiger, Bernd Eichinger and Stefan Arndt. While established artists can still live off past successes, young, up-and-coming talent is especially hard-hit by Internet piracy. “In the long term, this will reduce the cultural diversity in our country and we will gamble away one of our most important resources for the future,” the letter continues.

To continue reading the full press release on the IFPI Germany website click here

To read the open letter click here