U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) recently introduced a bipartisan bill that would protect the work of creators like musicians, authors and filmmakers who share their content online.
“Unfortunately, online piracy has become prevalent and difficult to stop, jeopardizing content quality and the incentives to create it. Our bill will help ensure that artists are compensated for their work and that we all continue to enjoy access to their creations,” Rep. Armstrong said.
The Strengthening Measures to Advance Rights Technologies Copyright Act of 2022, or the SMART Copyright Act, H.R. 9541, was introduced by Rep. Armstrong on Dec. 14 along with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA). The Senate companion bill, S. 3880, was introduced by U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in March.
The bill, if enacted, would define and provide for accommodation and designation of technical measures to identify, protect, or manage copyrighted works, according to the text of the legislation.
Sen. Armstrong’s office said the bill aims to restore the intent of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to improve cooperation between creators and online platforms to combat digital piracy. The bill also would ensure that platforms use tools developed in the marketplace to protect creative works on their services and prevent theft.
“The core copyright industries added more than $1.5 trillion to our nation’s GDP and employed over 5.7 million people in 2019 alone,” Rep. Chu said.
“But the filmmakers, musicians, authors, and artists responsible for these works are often robbed of their efforts by copyright theft.”