After recent Black Lives Matter protests, Americans rushed to libraries to request books on history, politics, and anti-racism. There were immediate shortages of certain books, with up to six month waits for commonly recommended titles. This happened throughout the entire system — even electronic books had long queues to check out. This is, in part, […]

On July 28, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held another in its year-long series of hearings on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The topic of this hearing was “How Does the DMCA Contemplate Limitations and Exceptions Like Fair Use?” We’re glad Congress is asking the question. Without fair use, much of our common culture would be inaccessible, cordoned…

**In Case You Missed It** Why Fair Use Is Crucial In the DMCA WASHINGTON—During the July 28 Senate Subcommittee Hearing on Intellectual Property hearing “How Does the DMCA Contemplate Limitations and Exceptions Like Fair Use?”, copyright policy experts and creators made the case that fair use and section 512 of the DMCA are supporting partners in the promotion of free speech…

Op-ed: Small Business Internet Infrastructure Providers Need Section 512. In an op-ed published by Inside Sources, Internet Infrastructure Coalition cofounder Christian Dawson argues that in its recent hearings on the DMCA, “Congress is narrowly framing this debate as one with just two players — content v. “Big Tech,” without assessing the negative impacts of proposed DMCA changes on the multitudes…

Washington — A Morning Consult poll shows Americans have found value in a range of tech services they are using even more frequently during the pandemic. The poll, commissioned by the Computer and Communications Industry Association, showed how important consumers found video chat, video streaming, food delivery services and the range of services gaining popularity. Overall, a majority of Americans (62%) said…

The oft-heated debate over the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) Section 512 is nothing new, but this summer’s scorching heat might just bring the debate to a boiling point. The Copyright Office has finally released its long-awaited report on Section 512, the Senate is holding a series of hearings on the DMCA, and as EU members struggle to implement the Directive on…

EU Court Opinion States YouTube Not Liable For Copyright Infringement. The advocate general for the EU’s highest court issued an opinion on July 16 stating that online platform operators are not legally responsible for copyright infringement. “As EU law currently stands, online platform operators, such as YouTube and Uploaded, are not directly liable for the illegal uploading of protected works…

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many campuses closing temporarily. These closings have heavily affected access to research labs and materials. In order to ensure the continuation of vital research, libraries including Penn State University Libraries, George A. Smathers Libraries of the University of Florida, and The Ohio State University Libraries are sharing a wide range of information and skills…

Engine Blog Re:Create’s Get to Know Our Members blog series helps others better understand the different ways Re:Create members work to support balanced copyright laws and why they are so motivated by copyright issues. For this post, we heard from Engine. 1: What is your organization’s mission? Engine is a policy, advocacy, and research organization supporting startups as an engine…

One of the main criticisms of the Copyright Office (“the Office”)’s report on Section 512 of Title 17 is that it focused upon the impact of Section 512 on rightsholders and online service providers (“OSPs”), and largely ignored Section 512’s impact on users. The Copyright Office redressed this oversight in a June 29, 2020 letter the Office wrote in response…