離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》Music stars seek reform of online piracy law in US 美國眾歌手齊聲呼籲改革線上音樂侵權法律
◎孫宇青
Katy Perry, Bryan Adams and Christina Aguilera are among hundreds in the music industry pressing lawmakers to reform US online piracy law.
凱蒂．佩芮、布萊恩．亞當斯和克莉絲汀等上百位美國歌手，聯合向國會議員施壓，希望改革線上音樂侵權法律。
At present internet firms are protected from liability if their users illegally share content online.
目前，如果使用者在網路上非法分享音樂，該網站在法律上可以免責。
The music industry said this allowed tech companies to generate large profits at their expense.
音樂界表示，這種情況使他們蒙受損失，網路公司卻因此獲得龐大利益。
The letter from songwriters and artists said the careers of up and coming musicians were threatened because they were not being properly rewarded for their work.
這封來自音樂創作者及歌手的請願書提到，許多後起之秀的努力都沒有獲得應有的回報，他們的音樂生涯因而面臨威脅。
It said the Digital Millennium Copyright Act "has allowed major tech companies to grow and generate huge profits by creating ease of use for consumers to carry almost every recorded song in history in their pocket via a smartphone, while songwriters’ and artists’ earnings continue to diminish."
他們也說，現今的數位千禧年著作權法「讓消費者可輕易藉由智慧型手機下載幾乎所有歌曲，那些大型網路公司也因此大賺一筆，而我們創作者和歌手的收入卻持續縮水。」
But the Internet Association, whose members include Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Twitter, disagreed saying online services gave artists a platform for reaching audiences.
然而，成員有臉書、谷歌、亞馬遜、推特等知名網站的網際網路協會，卻不同意上述說法，指出線上音樂創造一個平台，讓這些歌手能夠被聽見。
新聞辭典
liability：名詞，責任；義務。例句：The suicide attempter had finally admitted his liability for the accidental death of the passerby. （這名自殺未遂者終於承認，他必須為意外造成路人死亡負責。）
up-and-coming：形容詞，嶄露頭角的；有前途的。例句：Nowadays there are plenty of up-and-coming singers thriving in the music industry. （現在有越來越多前途似錦的歌手在音樂界發光發熱。）
diminish：動詞，減少；縮減。例句：The high cost of house rent has gradually diminished Joshua’s savings. （高昂的房租讓喬許的存款不斷減少。）
