Pursuant to the request for comments published in the Federal Register by the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) at 82 Fed. Reg. 23,699 (May 23, 2017) Re:Create submits the following comments on 2(h) 1 and 2(i) 2 and the interrelation between the two. Additionally, these comments are a formal notice of our intent to testify at the associated hearing and…

Op-Ed: Why We Need Fair Use Online. Art Neill, executive director of New Media Rights, penned an op-ed in The Los Angeles Times in defense of fair use, which he called “copyright law’s safety valve, protecting our ability to make social, political and cultural commentary and criticism.” Neill noted that anyone who creates content, including video game reviewers and journalists, rely…

Washington — As policymakers consider IP policy and trade agreement updates like the NAFTA renegotiation, balanced copyright language remains as important as ever. The Computer & Communications Industry Association released a study in conjunction with Capital Trade, Inc. on Friday, “Fair Use in the Economy 2017,” that found that value added by industries that depend on limitations and exceptions to…

Op-Ed: Register Of Copyrights Act Is A “Feeble” Attempt To Modernize The Copyright Office. In a recent op-ed published in Techdirt, R Street’s Sasha Moss explained how the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act and its Senate companion are “pointless legislation,” that focus on politicizing the Copyright Office rather than implementing significant modernization reform. She wrote, “Making the position…

What Does Copyright Have To Do With AI? A May 17 op-ed in Canada’s Globe and Mail addresses the challenges restrictive copyright rules can play on the development of AI services, despite dedicating millions to research and efforts to attract high-level talent. In Why copyright law poses a barrier to Canadian AI ambitions, Canadian copyright law expert Michael Geist pointed…

Re:Create Issues Statement On NAFTA Negotiations. The Re:Create Coalition today released a statement urging the Office of the United States Trade Representative to include language on copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use, if copyright law is part of the negotiations: “If NAFTA is renegotiated and if it includes a chapter on copyright, that chapter must have mandatory language on…

Members state opposition to the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act during floor debate. Rep. Jared Polis (CO): “It effectively politicizes the Office of the head of the Copyright Office.” “Under this bill, the position of Register of Copyrights will be yet another political position and will, frankly, stall one of the great projects they are embarking on, the…

Re:Create Urges U.S. Senate To Oppose S.1010. Last week, after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to make the Register of Copyrights a presidentially-appointed position, the Senate introduced a companion bill. In a statement, the Re:Create Coalition encouraged Senators to reject the legislation: “The Copyright Office’s mission to serve the public is too important and must be protected….

Hollywood’s At It Again: New Lawsuit Challenges DMCA’s Safe Harbor Provision. An April 26 blog post by Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Mitch Stoltz analyzed a new lawsuit against internet service provider Grande Communications, which hinges on “whether and when a home broadband provider should cut off a customer’s Internet service when someone using that service is accused of copyright infringement.” Stoltz…

The recording industry is turning up the volume on a new campaign to get Congress to change the basic legal architecture of the internet. The music industry claims that online platforms like YouTube don’t pay them enough and blames the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In a campaign branded “Value the Music”, industry representatives have taken aim at the law that…