U.S. Copyright Office Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the 1976 Copyright Act
On September 23, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) held an event celebrating the 50-year anniversary of the passage of the 1976 Copyright Act (’76 Act), the copyright statute that is currently in effect in the United States. Across three different panels, the stories and comments from speakers illustrated the countless individuals and hard work it took to create, draft, pass, implement, and fine-tune the 1976 Copyright Act. The event also highlighted how well the ’76 Act has withstood various challenges brought on by changes to the creative marketplace and new technologies, and other changes over the past 50 years, as well as the incredible work and dedication of U.S. Copyright Office leadership and staff over the years in ensuring the proper administration and functioning of the Act.
Opening Remarks Highlighted Key Copyright Champions and Leaders
George Thuronyi, Deputy Director of the Copyright Office’s Public Information and Education Division welcomed attendees, remarking that the event would feature special speakers who have had firsthand experience in drafting, developing, implementing, shaping, and administering the ’76 Copyright Act over the past fifty years. Register Shira Perlmutter began the event by highlighting how the ’76 Act has held up remarkably well “if not perfectly” since its enactment 50 years ago and that it has been “resilient enough to weather” some of the most pivotal developments in modern day advancements like digital technologies and artificial intelligence. Register Perlmutter also highlighted the hard work and achievements of the Copyright Office leadership and staff in assisting Congress in preparing the ’76 Act by publishing various studies ahead of the introduction of the bill, advising Congress on its key elements, administering the Act, and helping to shape major updates to the Act over the past 50 years. Specifically, she recognized her predecessors as being instrumental in leading the Copyright Office to these great accomplishments, acknowledging former Registers who were attending the event, including Ralph Oman, Maria Pallante, and Karyn Temple, as well as the late, former Registers Barbara Ringer and Marybeth Peters.
Several members of Congress also provided video remarks to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ’76 Act, including Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s IP Subcommittee, Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee’s IP Subcommittee, Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA), Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Their remarks praised the virtues of the Copyright Act, highlighting its important role in incentivizing creators, artists, and innovators to create works, and creating a sustainable system that enables artistic careers and livelihoods.
Panel One: The USCO’s Role in Developing and Passing the ‘76 Act
The first panel, moderated by Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Public Information and Education, Miriam Lord, highlighted the history behind and key figures involved in developing and passage of the 1976 Copyright Act. The panel featured John Baumgarten, former General Counsel of the Copyright Office, Bruce Lehman, former Chief Counsel of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and former Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, and Eric Schwartz, former Senior Policy Advisor and Acting General Counsel of the Copyright Office and current Partner at Mitchell Silberberg and Knupp LLP.
Baumgarten’s remarks, read by Eric Schwartz, emphasized the multiparty nature of developing and passing the legislation, including staff and members of Congress, government agencies, industry, and the Copyright Office. He noted the Copyright Office’s incredible leadership and work in implementing the new Act through various rulemaking processes, hearings, revisions of internal practices, and education of staff and stakeholders on the changes. Schwartz commented on how impressive this was given that the implementation period was only 14 months.
Lehman set the historical context and background for the ’76 Act, noting that the modernization of U.S. copyright law was the result of various historical influences including the fact that America was quickly finding itself positioned as a global leader on many issues in a post–World War II era. As such, it not only needed to harmonize with its “idiosyncratic” copyright system but also lead and shape those discussions—necessitating changes to domestic copyright law. He also highlighted the important contributions of Arthur Fisher, Barbara Ringer, Tom Brennan, Emanuel Celler, and Robert Kastenmeier.
Schwartz underscored the technological changes and need for U.S. harmonization with international laws as a reason why Congress tapped into the Copyright Office’s bipartisan, bicameral role as an advisor to Congress, a role that the Office continues to play today. He explained that the revision process ultimately spanned 21 years, from the Copyright Office’s first major study in1955 through enactment of the new Act in 1976. Among the many changes and updates brought on by ’76 Act, Schwartz highlighted that the Copyright Act became more author-centric rather than publisher centric as evidenced by it establishing that copyright begins at fixation, the ability of authors to divide their rights into multiple markets, and statutory termination rights. He also emphasized Register Barbara Ringer’s major role in shaping domestic copyright law and international copyright relations as well as the advice and work done by Bella Linden on the ’76 Act.
Panel Two: The USCO’s Role in Administering the ’76 Act
The second panel focused on how the Copyright Office implemented and documented the Copyright Act of 1976, through documenting and clarifying registration practices and public education about the implications and updates to copyright law arising from the ‘76 Act. The moderator was Erik Bertin, Acting Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy and Practice. Speakers included Mary Rasenberger, former Senior Policy Advisor of the Copyright Office and current CEO of the Authors Guild and Catie Zaller Rowland, former Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Public Information and Education and current Vice President and General Counsel of the Copyright Clearance Center.
Bertin set the background, highlighting the enormous administrative challenges created by having to replace Copyright Office processes and services to comply with the1976 Act in just 14 months. The new law had significantly changed registration requirements, which allowed the Office to streamline categorization of its registration application forms but also introduced new registration information requirements that the Office needed to build into its application forms involving works made for hire, the year of creation, transfers of ownership, and anonymous or pseudonymous authorship. Another major challenge was determining how to handle deposits and registration of new and previously difficult-to-register works.
Rasenberger praised the transparent nature of the Copyright Office in its efforts to educate and help users of the copyright system in understanding the Office’s practices. She highlighted the history and development of the Copyright Office’s Compendium, which explains the Office’s registration examination practices and procedures. She noted that the first Compendium covered Copyright Office practices under the 1909 Copyright Act, but that starting with the second Compendium, the manual would only cover Office practices under the new ’76 Act (and anyone wishing to get information on the 1909 Act would have to refer to the first Compendium). Rasenberger focused on the development of the Compendium Third (the most current version), developed under former Register Maria Pallante, which was released as an online version and included updates to address new issues arising from the internet and digital technologies. She noted that prior compendiums were designed for examiners, but that the third compendium was designed to make Copyright Office practices more accessible for practitioners and registration applicants.
Zaller Rowland concluded the panel by highlighting the increasing importance of the Copyright Office’s role in public education after passage of the ’76 Act, as the Office received over 64,000 telephone calls and letters from individuals seeking information about the Act and copyright law. She emphasized that through various public events, reports, educational programming, and eventually a much more extensive online presence, these public education efforts have been an essential part of the Copyright Office’s mission because copyright law is useful only when people can understand how it applies to their work. She noted how the Office’s public information and education division now receives approximately 200,000 public inquiries each year.
Panel Three: The Copyright Office’s Role in Shaping Post-’76 Act Developments
The third panel focused on the Copyright Office’s leadership and involvement in shaping various additions and developments to continuously adapt the Copyright Act after its initial passage in 1976 in light of technological and other modern developments. The panel was moderated by Emily Chapuis, General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights. Speakers included Mitch Glazier, former Senior Intellectual Property Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, and current CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Reagan Smith, former General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights at the Copyright Office and current General Counsel of the News Media Alliance, and David Carson, former Copyright Claims Board (CCB) Officer and former General Counsel of the Copyright Office.
Glazier’s remarks focused on the copyright challenges resulting from the new ways that copyrighted works were distributed and used in the new digital medium of the Internet and how digital technologies presented significant challenges that led to the negotiations, drafting, and eventual passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). He explained how the legislative process was and is highly collaborative, involving congressional staff, the Copyright Office, industry representatives, and others and that he was impressed by the Copyright Office’s leadership and expertise provided to Congress on the matter. Looking back, Glazier stated that he considers some aspects of the DMCA successful but believes it was less durable than the 1976 Act, as the latter was based on broader concepts and behavior rather than addressing specific technologies.
Smith’s remarks focused on the Copyright Office’s role in administering, evaluating, and improving the DMCA after enactment, as seen through the Office’s triennial rulemaking proceeding to establish temporary exemptions to the prohibition of circumvention of Technological Protection Measures (TPMs). She highlighted the Copyright Office’s forward-thinking expertise demonstrated in its study on the rulemaking process, where the Office recommended various reforms such as the need to distinguish between access to a work and using a work, which remains an important issue in current AI copyright debates. She also highlighted the Office’s work in streamlining the rulemaking process and making it more efficient. Smith also praised the Office’s accomplishments in conducting reforms to the mechanical licensing landscape, issuing a major study leading up to the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) and how within only seven days of the MMA becoming law, the Office issued a new form and rule concerning the registration of pre-1972 sound recordings.
Carson’s remarks focused on the Copyright Office’s work and role in developing, shaping, launching, and administering the new small claims copyright tribunal, known as the Copyright Claims Board (CCB). Even before his time serving as an inaugural CCB Officer, Carson shared that the Copyright Office’s work on the issue began long before, as evidenced by its report to Congress regarding orphan works in which the Office recommended that Congress examine ways to make the pursuit of small copyright claims easier and more affordable. Carson highlighted how after the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020 was passed, the Copyright Office accomplished the impressive feat of setting up, establishing, and running the new small claims copyright tribunal within a matter of just 18 months. Carson highlighted the successes of the CCB and underscored that this story was a great example of how when the Copyright Office is able to work with Congress over a period of any years, good copyright policy can emerge and be implemented.
Conclusion
Across speakers’ remarks from the three panels, it was evident that the U.S. Copyright Office, its staff, leadership, and copyright supporters and champions in Congress and in the private sector have been instrumental in creating copyright legislation that has weathered and survived incredible challenges over the last 50 years. And the work to support and uphold the Copyright Act is continued by the Copyright Office, creators, legislators, and others, whether that is in refining and shaping the 1976 Act through new legislation, regulations, or other practices and procedures, especially in the midst of challenges posed by digital and AI technologies.
Stay tuned for the Copyright Alliance’s celebration of the 1976 Copyright Act, where on October 6, we will share the insights of other key players and individuals who were on the front lines of the development and passage of the 1976 Act, and their thoughts on how the Act has fared in modern days.
If you aren’t already a member of the Copyright Alliance, you can join today by completing our Individual Creator Members membership form! Members gain access to monthly newsletters, educational webinars, and so much more — all for free!