CREATIVE COMMUNITY GAINS PROTECTIVE ALLY

Contending that the nation’s copyright system faces unprecedented challenges, a coalition of groups on Wednesday formally launched a new organization to promote increased protection for the nation’s creative community.

The new American Copyright Council is chartered by 17 organizations ranging from movie studios and the recording industry to computer manufacturers.

Stanley M. Gortikov, chairman of the board of the council, said the group’s primary purpose will be to educate the public and the government “on the imperative need to maintain forever a vital copyright system” in a technologically changing society.

He stressed that the council “will not be a political entity but an educational one.”

Sen. Charles McC. Mathias Jr. (R-Md.), who heads the Senate judiciary subcommittee on patents, trademarks and copyrights, warned that as America moves increasingly toward a service-oriented economy, there is an increasing need to protect intellectual property.

“If we don’t,” he said, recalling words someone once told him, “we’ll just be fattening frogs for the snakes.”

Actress Loretta Swit said copyright protection is fundamental to the freedom of artists to create and produce quality products. She referred to the long-running TV series “MASH”--where she portrayed Maj. Margaret Houlihan--as the legitimate byproduct of the world of entertainment protected by copyright.

She was joined by composer Burton Lane, author Madeleine L’Engle and painter Leon Berkowitz, all of whom underscored the need for sound copyright protection for their creative endeavors.

In announcing the council’s formation, Gortikov also criticized the copyright community for complacency and inaction in the past. He warned that consumers’ insatiable appetites for new low-cost products must be accompanied by increased awareness of the need to protect those who create the programming.

“Developers of technology want all the benefits of copyright, but they don’t really give a damn about it or about copyright owners, authors and creators,” he said. “The public doesn’t know enough to be concerned or to realize what would be lost without it.”

Jay Keller, president of Source Telecomputing Corp., a home computer information service, said copyright is also vital to his company in order to protect creators and publishers of computer software. Copyright, he said, “enables us to survive as a business.”