UPDATE: IPR Committee Brief: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act
On May 2, 2018, S.1010 - Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017 (LINK) was introduced in the U.S. Senate. After being read twice, it was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration which held hearings on September 26th on the proposed bill. The Committee was to meet on December 4, 2018 to discuss and vote on S.1010; that hearing was subsequently “postponed until further notice” (1). Should the bill pass the Committee, it will go before the whole Senate for a vote. Those concerned that the proposed bill would unnecessarily politicize the role of Register of Copyrights are urging individuals to contact their Senators, telling them to vote “no” on S.1010 (2).
As a reminder, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of the bill: H.R.1695: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (LINK). This bill proposed moving the position of Register of Copyrights to a presidential appointment followed by a Senate confirmation hearing, and the House voted to approve this on April 26, 2018. Many within the library community have expressed strong concerns that this bill seeks to make the position of Register of Copyrights overtly political when the position should be serving both the rights of copyright holders and the good of the public concurrently. Numerous organizations, including the American Library Association (LINK), have expressed concern that if the position were politicized in this way, copyright terms could be unduly influenced by business and special interest groups, namely the entertainment industry. For an in-depth look at H.R.1695 as well as an analysis of the arguments both for and against the bill, please see the previous “IPR Committee Brief: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act” (LINK).
Amy Lazet, Visual Resources Specialist, College for Creative Studies
Sources:
“LINK:”
Text of S.1010: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1010?r=45
Text of H.R.1695: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1695?r=3
American Library Association Statement: http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/04/ala-urges-senate-reject-bill-make-register-copyrights-presidential-appointee
IPR Committee Brief: httpS://vraweb.org/ipr-committee-brief-register-of-copyrights-selection-and-accountability-act/
Citations:
- United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration: https://www.rules.senate.gov/hearings/s-1010
- Electronic Frontier Foundation, “Tell the Senate Not to Put the Register of Copyrights in the Hands of the President:” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/12/tell-senate-not-put-register-copyrights-hands-president