Copyright Alliance Commends AAP for Opposing State of Maryland’s Unconstitutional E-Book Licensing Mandates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eileen Bramlet ebramlet@copyrightalliance.org

Washington, DC — December 9, 2021 — Today, the Copyright Alliance released the following statement commending the Association of American Publishers (AAP) on its opposition to actions by the state of Maryland that would harm the creative industries, and in particular, harm authors, publishers, and copyright holders by its attempt to sanction unlawful and unconstitutional e-Book mandates:

According to Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid, “We commend AAP for seeking to prevent the state of Maryland from creating what is effectively a compulsory license for literary works. The Maryland law raises serious constitutional and copyright law concerns. It is an alarming intrusion into the exclusive rights of copyright owners, and it sets a dangerous precedent that, if left unchecked, would threaten the wide range of creative industries that rely on copyright to support the production and dissemination of creative works, including books, movies, music, software, photos, newspapers, and more.

“The copyright community and the broader public benefit from an effective, uniform national copyright framework, and we are deeply troubled by Maryland’s misguided encroachment into an area that is exclusively the province of Congress. We hope the court quickly recognizes that Maryland’s effort to commandeer the system of exclusive rights that empowers authors and copyright owners to create and disseminate their works is at odds with the Constitution, the U.S. Copyright Act, and the public interest.”

A statement released by AAP today can be found here.

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ABOUT THE COPYRIGHT ALLIANCE

The Copyright Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest and educational organization representing the copyright interests of over 1.8 million individual creators and over 13,000 organizations in the United States, across the spectrum of copyright disciplines. The Copyright Alliance is dedicated to advocating policies that promote and preserve the value of copyright, and to protecting the rights of creators and innovators. For more information, please visit https://copyrightalliance.org.