Journal!

New Balance Shoes Supports SOPA

I am a Boston native and a long time dedicated New Balance customer. I 
have worn New Balance sneakers on all seven continents and am wearing a 
pair right now. I think the product is great (I tell everybody who asks), 
and more importantly I feel like I can relate to the values and ethics of 
your business (more than I can say for most companies in your industry).

Which is why I am so disappointed to see "New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc." 
was a co-signor of an industry letter this past September in support of 
legislation like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

Having dealt with copycat and counterfeit goods with my own business in 
the electronics industry, I can empathize with the frustration of being 
undercut by shoddy imitations produced under ambiguous working conditions. 
But the SOPA bill would be ineffective in actually addressing these 
problems, would egregiously damage the increasingly important Internet 
sector of our economy, and greatly undermine the core values and civil 
rights that make this nation special. There already exists an extensive 
body of legislation for pursing intellectual property claims, enforced at 
the taxpayer's expense. It is inappropriate to re-engineer the entire 
internet infrastructure to ease a single form of policing and seizure, 
especially with such weak oversight and understanding of the implications. 
SOPA throws out the baby with the bath water, and given the quality of 
debate there is little hope that it's many problems can be fixed.

New Balance has achieved a lot. I am optimistic that you will withdraw 
support for this harmful legislation and find more just ways to keep your 
business healthy and competitive. The alternative is to lose part of your 
loyal consumer base.

Response:

Thank you for contacting New Balance regarding this legislation. Our support
for this legislation stems from our desire to protect our intellectual
property from unscrupulous parties that cause damage to our brand, affect
our ability to create jobs and cost consumers millions. We have heard your
concerns and are in contact with industry groups regarding the same. 

Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns by email
or at 1-800-622-1218.

Even GoDaddy has backed down; I hope I don’t need to find a new sneaker manufacturer. For the record, despite loads of marketing New Balance only produces about 25% of their shoe products in the USA. I do appreciate their efforts though.