The U.S. Copyright Office would be reformed and modernized to reflect feedback from industry stakeholders and public interest groups under bipartisan legislation reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) on Wednesday.
The Copyright Office for the Digital Economy (CODE) Act, H.R. 890, would transition the Copyright Office to the legislative branch, and it calls for technology studies to ensure user friendliness and improvements to the searchable database.
“Intellectual property rights are a founding principle of our nation’s laws and one of the core reasons we have become the most prosperous nation in the world,” Marino said. “However, our Copyright Office has fallen well behind the fast-moving pace of America’s creators and the industries they work in. This is detrimental not only to copyright holders, but to the public as well.”
The CODE Act, which Marino introduced with U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), would also establish an advisory board comprised of stakeholders with diverse interests to provide feedback that ensures neutrality and objectivity in the copyright field.
“The CODE Act ensures the Copyright Office has the autonomy to move quickly and adapt to changes in technology so the public has the ability to enjoy and benefit from creative works,” Marino said. “It also ensures that the registration process provides content creators with the ability to enforce their rights in a timely manner. In creating this legislation, Rep. Chu and I sought the advice and feedback of all copyright related entities. The CODE Act is well thought out, reasonable and provides a long-term solution to the Copyright Office’s ailments.”
Marino and Chu introduced the bipartisan bill during the 114th Congress after months of discussions and roundtable meetings with industry stakeholders.
“I am proud to once again join Rep. Marino to introduce the CODE Act,” Chu said. “The copyright industries are responsible for millions of jobs and billions of dollars in our economy, yet the Copyright Office is still using outmoded processes to handle registration. We must bring it into the modern age.”