Former Registers of Copyrights Urge Congress on CO Autonomy, Citing Pallante Ouster
Former Registers of Copyrights Ralph Oman and Marybeth Peters urged leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees Monday to more seriously consider increased autonomy for the Copyright Office, after the ouster last month of Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante.…
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Oman is now a copyright law professor at George Washington University Law School, and Peters is an IP adviser with Muncy Geissler. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden removed Pallante as register in October and appointed her to be LOC adviser for digital strategy. Pallante then resigned (see 1610210061 and 1610250062). Hayden's move drew criticism (see 1610240052 and 1611100037). The “unseemly dismissal” may have serious implications “for the future of the American copyright system,” Oman and Peters said in a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, we obtained. The letter also went to House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., and outgoing Senate Judiciary ranking member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Hayden’s decision to remove Pallante “only compounds our already serious concerns,” the former registers said. “The episode makes us question whether any Register, or the [CO] itself, can continue to serve the public interest under the current institutional framework. And we are concerned that in the current environment, many of the most qualified candidates will not seek the position.” The CO’s role has grown since its founding “and the competing missions and differing priorities of the [Library of Congress] and the [CO] have increasingly emerged as a source of tension,” Oman and Peters said. They said Pallante’s endorsement of the office's independence followed by Hayden’s decision to remove her “created these tensions,” which were “inevitable given the divergent roles of the two organizations.” Ultimately “the choice is stark,” the former registers said. “Does Congress want modernization and independent copyright advice straight and true from the expert agency, or does it want copyright administration and advice filtered through the lens -- and shaped by the perspective -- of the head of the national library?” CO modernization is likely to be a major part of any copyright legislation to emerge in the 115th Congress, and full separation from the LOC is one of several options being considered (see 1512140029, 1603300060 and 1607150022).