Copyright Register Testifies on Need for Copyright Law Revision
The issues of orphan works, illegal streaming and public performance rights for sound recordings are the three biggest issues calling for revised copyright law, said Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante during a Wednesday hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. “I think orphan works is ripe” for a revised law, she said. “I think the public is so frustrated by the long copyright term,” which may keep individuals from using copyrighted works, even when the copyright holder can’t be located.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
"It is time for Congress to think about the next great copyright act, which will need to be more forward thinking and flexible than before” due to technological changes, Pallante said in her prepared testimony. Any new law should be written in a less technical way that does not require “an army of lawyers to understand the basic precepts of” it, she said. “Good faith people really want to know what the rules of the road are,” she said. “We hate, in the Copyright Office, that copyright has gotten a bad name,” and most members of the public think of copyright as a tool used by big companies to make money and limit the activities of consumers, she said. Pallante encouraged the subcommittee members “to get the respect of the public back into the equation by having a law that is a little more intuitive than it is now."
"How does the American copyright system compare to others around the world in striking a balance” between incentivizing creativity and protecting the public interest, asked Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble, R-N.C. The concept of fair use “is not a doctrine that you'll see elsewhere in the world,” Pallante said. While U.S. copyright law has shaped copyright law around the globe, “our law is showing its age,” she said, asking the subcommittee to revise the law.
While public opinion should be a consideration when formulating law, “polls and petitions should not determine the substance of the changes we make,” Ranking Member Mel Watt, D-N.C., said. As Congress considers updating other laws that affect technologies -- including laws against hacking and cybersecurity policies -- “it is time to deliberately update our copyright regime … to address some of the imbalances that have developed in the digital environment,” he said. Copyright protections remain necessary in today’s digital world, he said. Without copyright protections, content creators would lack the incentives to produce the content people access digitally, he said. “An iPod and Pandora would not exist without the musical works they deliver.”
What should the U.S. do to combat copyright infringement on U.S. IP that is taking place abroad, asked Rep. Thomas Marino, R-Pa. “We all know how much money that’s costing us in the U.S. … What are other countries doing to bring up to date … their copyright laws?” he asked. Pallante suggested “following the money” to find those websites that host copyrighted content and are operated outside of the U.S. but are directed at U.S. consumers.
In a statement, Free Press Action Fund Policy Director Matt Wood urged members of the subcommittee “to promote consumer freedom in every decision they make, including on the important topic of wireless device locking” and hold hearings on recently introduced bills about unlocking. “We shouldn’t have to ask for permission to use our devices how we want and where we want. We urge Congress to focus on promoting true wireless freedom and consumer sovereignty as it moves legislation forward,” he said.