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…

Re:Create Coalition Calls On Senate To Oppose H.R. 1695. The Re:Create Coalition issued a statement following the House’s approval of H.R. 1695, a bill that would make the Register of Copyrights – the head of the U.S. Copyright Office – a presidential appointee: “We are disappointed that the House failed to stop this flawed bill from passage. We can’t allow…

U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren: “It Will Only Serve To Delay Copyright Office Modernization.” “This bill is a vote of ‘no confidence’ in a Librarian who is aggressively pulling the Library and Copyright Office into the 21st century and, by all evidence, justifiably reassigned an ineffective and negligent Register. It will only serve to delay Copyright Office modernization, harm the public,…

With Register of Copyrights bill, big media seeks its own in-house lobbyist By Kerry Maeve Sheehan The Hill April 24, 2017 “Why are advocates for major media and entertainment companies pushing Congress to rush through a bill that would make the U.S.’s top copyright official— the Register of Copyrights— a position appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate? Unfortunately,…

Wall Street’s Charging Bull vs. Fearless Girl: A Lesson In Free Speech And Fair Use. Last week, artist Arturo Di Modica and his lawyers threatened a copyright lawsuit to remove the popular “Fearless Girl” statue opposing his iconic “Charging Bull.” Re:Create’s Executive Director Joshua Lamel spoke with Fortune for the April 16 article, Charging Bull vs. Fearless Girl: Why the…

Publishers Weekly: Critical Report Could Derail ‘Copyright Boss’ Bill. “Details of mismanagement at the Copyright Office complicate a rushed legislative attempt to block Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden from appointing a new Register of Copyrights,” reported Andrew Albanese with Publishers Weekly. The April 6 article dives into a recently released Inspector General’s report that discusses mismanagement at the Copyright Office…

Re:Create Coalition Urges Congress And White House To Support Balanced Copyright. As covered by Axios’ Login, the Re:Create Coalition sent letters this week to Congress and the White House urging our nation’s leaders to encourage a copyright agenda that supports innovation, creators, and consumers. The letter explained, “Attempts to improve the effective uses of U.S. copyright law serve an important…