Copyright affects all Americans – from business owners to artists, platforms, libraries, social media users, academics, students, and so many more. On the first day of Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)’s Copyright Week 2025, themed “Copyright Policy Should Be Made in the Open With Input From Everyone,” it’s crucial to emphasize that the interests and communities impacted by copyright policy extend far beyond the major rightsholder groups that have set up permanent residencies in the lobbies of every policymaker. A broad and diverse ecosystem of voices relies on balanced copyright to connect, communicate, and create. 

From America’s beginnings, the Founders recognized the importance of a robust ecosystem for sharing knowledge and creativity, and they empowered Congress in the Constitution to make copyright laws “to promote the progress of science.” Since the passage of the Copyright Act of 1790, copyright law has shaped and influenced how creativity and knowledge flow in society, playing an even greater role in scientific and cultural progress than the Founders could have envisioned. Balancing features like limited term, the idea/expression distinction, and most importantly the fair use doctrine have helped make the U.S. a global leader in both culture and technology.  

Despite this extraordinary track record, advances in AI have sparked debates about changes to copyright law that would tilt it decisively in favor of a few massive copyright aggregators at the expense of literally every other part of the copyright ecosystem. Given the vastness and diversity of that ecosystem, it is essential that everyone with a stake in that system also has a voice in shaping copyright policy. 

Moreover, these discussions should be open to stakeholders and to the public, and should include both small and large stakeholders, all of whom have equal rights under copyright laws and each of whom brings a unique perspective, such as…

• Educators who rely on fair use, open educational resources, and the public domain, to provide diverse sources of reliable information and create exciting learning experiences for their students.
• Libraries that collect, preserve, and provide access to information, educational resources, and cultural materials for the public using the public domain, first sale doctrine, the library and archives provisions, and fair use.
• Small and independent businesses, artists, and content creators whose work (and livelihoods) depend on a free and open internet, threatened by site blocking regimes and overbroad takedown provisions that would let trolls, bots, censors, and sloppy enforcers take their work offline without due process.
• Farmers and manufacturers who need a robust Right to Repair so they can maintain their critical equipment without paying a penalty or monopoly prices to equipment vendors.
• Technologists who are experts on established technologies like DNS and emerging technologies like machine learning. Policymakers need to understand how networks could be undermined by siteblocking proposals, and how AI technologies like Large Language Models (LLMs) rightfully use copyrighted materials to train LLMs.
• Consumers who need the right to access and use safety codes that have been adopted into law, a right that is under threat from the PRO CODES Act.

These are just some of the many examples of people and industries that rely on and are governed by copyright law. All voices should be heard throughout these ongoing policy debates. 

As the executive director of the Re:Create Coalition, a diverse group of digital rights advocates, civil society groups, libraries, creators, thinkers, and consumers who stand for balanced copyright laws, I encourage policymakers to think of all voices in the copyright space to continue to promote the progress of science.