This piece was co-authored by R Street Digital Director Zach Graves.  America’s music-copyright world was shaken up in December when the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) issued its long-awaited rate adjustment for Pandora, a digital Internet radio service. The decision lowered rates paid by its subscription service and increased rates for its ad-supported service – the latter representing the vast majority…

Copyright Office Seeks Comments On Improving Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). On December 31, the U.S. Copyright Office announced its plans to solicit comments on the effectiveness of the DMCA and its “safe harbor” provisions. The Office seeks to understand how section 512’s safe harbors, limitations on liability for online service providers and notice-and-takedown process impact copyright issues. Ars Technica…

In recent weeks, copyright-related controversies involving two Holocaust-era works—The Diary of Anne Frank and Mein Kampf—have received widespread media attention. The fact that these issues are arising now, 70 years after the end of World War II, demonstrates how copyright can be made to serve political ends long after the goal of incentivizing authors is relevant. This past November, The…

The latest ARL Advocacy and Public Policy Update (covering the period from October 1 to December 22) is now available.  Previous Advocacy and Policy Updates can be found here. From the current update’s summary: Copyright continues to be an active area with a number of developments since October. The House Judiciary Committee continues to move forward with its copyright review…

The latest installment of the Star Wars saga broke box office records this past weekend, grossing $247 million in ticket sales in North America. This exceeds by $30 million the previous opening weekend record set this past June by Jurassic World. The Force Awakens also generated $280 million overseas, not including China, where the film will be released in January….

This past weekend, the latest installment of the Star Wars saga set box office records ($247 million in North American ticket sales) while receiving broad critical acclaim (95% positive reviews). The film’s enormous success teaches us important lessons about copyright policy. This post discusses how the Star Wars saga demonstrates the degree to which creative works rely on pre-existing works,…

Today the new Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) ruling was released, announcing royalty rates that will impact music streaming services and the broader music ecosystem.  Given how complicated all of this is, we thought an explainer would be useful. What is the CRB? The CRB is an administrative body at the Copyright Office comprised of three Copyright Royalty Judges who set…

Re:Create Releases New Video. Check out the newly released Re:Create Coalition video to learn more about our organization and our mission for a balanced copyright system! Star Wars Fan Receives Takedown Notice For Sharing Picture Of “Rey” Action Figure. Last week, a fan posted a photo to Facebook of a yet-to-be-officially-released Star Wars action figure seen on a store shelf….

The European Commission finally published its long-awaited Communication “towards a modern, more European copyright framework.” The Communication, serving as an action plan, outlines the different issues the European Commission is currently considering for legislative proposals to be adopted from spring 2016 onwards in areas such as limitations and exceptions, online platforms and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR). The European…