the term extension was supported for two key reasons. first, "copyright industries give us [(the united states)] one of our most significant trade surpluses." second, the recently enacted legislation in the european union had extended copyright there for 20 years, and so eu works would be protected for 20 years longer than us works if the us did not enact similar term extensions. howard coble also stated that it was good for consumers since "when works are protected by copyright, they attract investors who can exploit the work for profit." the term extension portion was supported by songwriters guild of america, national academy of songwriters, the motion picture association of america, the intellectual property law section of the american bar association, the recording industry association of america, national music publishers association, the information technology association of america and others.