Copyright Alliance Submits Comments Supporting House Judiciary Ctte Copyright Office Reform Policy Proposal

WASHINGTON  Today, the Copyright Alliance submitted comments to the House Judiciary Committee, welcoming the first policy proposal released by Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers (on December 8, 2016).

In the comments, Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid explained that “A modern and efficient Copyright Office is critical to a 21st century copyright system. We welcome the Committee’s attention to ensuring the Copyright Office has the necessary policy and operational autonomy over its policy studies, decisions, budget, staffing and IT in order to meet the challenges of the future.”

The comments further note that the Copyright Alliance strongly supports “providing the Copyright Office with greater autonomy from the Library of Congress and taking the necessary steps to ensure not only that the historical deference afforded to the Copyright Office on matters of domestic copyright policy continues, but also that it has autonomy over its IT, budget, and staffing decisions, subject to Congressional oversight.”

The Alliance also raised concerns with the proposal’s recommendations relating to database of copyright ownership information, stating that “requiring the collection and dissemination of information beyond what is currently required-either affirmatively or by adding new registration or recordation obligations that are tied to the availability of remedies-is not appropriate” and that “the administration of a comprehensive database for licensing and business transactions is best left to the private sector.”

A copy of Copyright Alliance comments 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 www.copyrightalliance.org.

For media inquiries, contact:

Eileen Bramlet

VP Communications

ebramlet@copyrightalliance.org

571.228.1906

You can download the pdf version of this statement here.