Dear CreativeFuture Members,

The House Judiciary Committee, led by Congressman Goodlatte and Congressman Conyers, recently released a proposal that “identifies important reforms to help ensure the Copyright Office keeps pace in the digital age.” With the release of this proposal, the Committee asked that comments from “interested stakeholders” (i.e., Us!) be submitted by January 31, 2017. So, we did.

CreativeFuture supports the proposal because the centerpiece of any strong copyright system is a strong Copyright Office. We are especially pleased to see that the proposal recognizes the Office’s important work beyond its administration of the registration and recordation systems – namely, its critical role as an advisor to Congress and the Executive Branch on copyright law and policy.

Moreover, there is every reason for the head of the Copyright Office, the Register of Copyrights, to be subject to the same nomination and confirmation process as other top government officials. The standing of the Copyright Office should reflect the value of the economic and cultural contributions of the creative economy that it supports.

In short, CreativeFuture applauds the Judiciary Committee for giving serious consideration to the steps necessary to ensure a proper framework for a 21st Century Copyright Office.

To read CreativeFuture’s submitted comments in full, please click here.

Warmest,

Ruth Vitale
CEO, CreativeFuture