Washington, D.C. – Following President Trump’s signing of an Executive Order on AI, Re:Create Executive Director Brandon Butler issued the following statement in support of the federal copyright framework and its application to AI.
“For nearly 50 years, the Copyright Act of 1976 has expressly preempted state copyright laws, ensuring a unified federal policy on this important Constitutional issue. Copyright preemption protects federal rights, including the right of fair use, against erosion by the states. A patchwork of misguided state-level copyright regulations would not only stifle innovation and entrepreneurship but also create a chilling effect on creativity, education, scholarship, and other core First Amendment activities,” said Re:Create Executive Director Brandon Butler. “As states look to regulate AI, we’ve seen serious threats of intrusion that would disrupt the balance of the federal copyright system and undermine valuable federal rights. We applaud the Administration’s plan to enforce existing law on federal preemption, which includes copyright, because valuable federal rights like fair use shouldn’t be subject to the whims of 50 state legislatures.”
###
About Re:Create: Re:Create is a coalition comprised of a broad membership of think tanks, advocacy organizations, libraries, technology companies – large and small – that serves as the leading coalition united in the fight for a balanced copyright system that is pro-innovation, pro-creator, and pro-consumer. Not every member of the Re:Create Coalition necessarily agrees on every issue, but the views we express represent the consensus among the bulk of our membership.