A Copyright Alliance Thanksgiving 2024
It’s hard to believe that I am now entering my tenth year as the CEO of the Copyright Alliance. It’s been a great ten years. I have been blessed with a great staff, great members to work for, and interesting issues to work on during my nearly decade-long stint. Certainly, as with most things in life, it’s been a rollercoaster ride with its share of ups and downs. Thankfully—and probably why I enjoy this job so much is—there have been many more ups than downs.
For most of my tenure at the Copyright Alliance, during the Thanksgiving season, I’ve taken some time to look back at the events of the past year and highlighted the many Copyright Alliance-related initiatives and accomplishments that I am most thankful for. In the spirit of this tradition, I will once again share the things I most appreciate from 2024, including:
- The knowledgeable, hardworking, dedicated, and passionate Copyright Alliance staff who diligently advocate for policies that promote and preserve the value of copyright and protect the rights of creators and innovators. The staff at the Copyright Alliance has changed very little over the years. I think that is because of the great team we have assembled who love working with one another and the interesting issues we get to tackle each day. No doubt it is also due to the fact that, like me, they love helping individual creators and small businesses with whatever the copyright issues of the day may be. In particular, I’d like to commend the great work of Courtney Lang, who is one of the leaders on our Communications and Events team and has been instrumental in building and working with our Community Partners and the tens of thousands of creators we are proud to call our members. I’d also like to thank Becca Jones for nearly a decade of hard work and dedication as our Director of Operations. Becca was the foundation of everything we do here at the Alliance. We all miss her presence around the Office terribly, no one more than I.
- The millions of creators across the globe whose interests the Copyright Alliance seeks to protect. Historically, these creators have had to struggle against companies and individuals who fail to respect them and the creative works they spend so many hours to produce. But over the past couple of years, that lack of respect and moral compass has reached new heights as wealthy AI developers copy and use their works without payment or permission to train their systems—an act commonly known as theft. Despite this, these creators continue to work tirelessly to make and disseminate new copyrighted works for the world to enjoy, while many of them struggle to make ends meet.
- The organization members of the Copyright Alliance who have joined me on the aforementioned rollercoaster ride these many years and who have been so wonderfully supportive of our work and mission. Sure, every so often our members may disagree with one another. After all, what family doesn’t have its disagreements. But what’s important is that, at the end of the day, we all work together toward one goal—the importance of strong and effective copyright protection. Words cannot explain how thankful I am for their continued support for me and the Copyright Alliance itself.
- The leadership and staff at the U.S. Copyright Office, for supporting copyright and creativity every day, for working to modernize the copyright registration system, and for promoting the importance of copyright to our culture, economy, and international trade. In particular, I am thankful that I get to work with Register Perlmutter who has led the Office with remarkable focus and resolve, and—with the support of her skilled and dedicated staff—has expertly guided the Office through unprecedented, challenging times.
- The Copyright Alliance Legal, Creator, and Academic Advisory Boards, for their dedication and support of Copyright Alliance members by sharing their experience, advocacy, and advice.
- Our Community Partners and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLAs) for working with us to support creativity and innovation through their various services and the pro bono or low cost educational workshops that they offer to independent creators throughout the country. From our first Community Partner, BIPOC Podcast Creators, a non-profit organization that offers networking and consulting opportunities to BIPOC podcasters; to the Ella Project, a VLA that provides legal support, business assistance, and advocacy for New Orleans creators; and the 20+ additional outstanding partners in our program, I’m grateful for all that they do to support the creative community.
- A copyright law that protects the television shows, books, music, magazines, photographs, movies, software, video games, art, newspapers, and so many other creative works and incentivizes their creation and dissemination so that people like you and I can enjoy them.
- All those who have or will donate to the Copyright Alliance on Giving Tuesday this year (and throughout the year) so that the Copyright Alliance can continue to champion the rights of creators and their works through dedicated advocacy and comprehensive copyright education. Now more than ever, with AI making the stakes even higher, your continued donations help to empower us to foster a world where creativity not only survives but thrives.
As we all look forward to 2025, the Copyright Alliance will continue to work diligently to ensure that the rights of all creators and copyright owners across the country are respected. In particular, we will continue to urge policymakers to ensure that AI companies act responsibly, ethically, and respectfully when it comes to their development and use of copyrighted works and that those who steal from creators and copyright owners are held accountable for their illicit acts.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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