Copyright Office Needs Better Resources, More Budget Autonomy, Register of Copyrights Tells House Subcommittee
The “next great copyright act” will require “a few years of solid drafting and revision” to get right, Maria Pallante, U.S. Register of Copyrights, told the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property during a hearing Wednesday. Pallante urged members of the subcommittee to write the law in a way that allows it to be flexible so the Copyright Office can adapt the law to keep up with changing technology. Debates over copyright law should “get out of Washington,” Pallante said. She suggested the debate’s participants “go somewhere like Nashville, where people make a living writing songs from their kitchen tables."
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The Copyright Office needs better technology and more control over its resources, Pallante said. “Our own staff is frustrated by the inadequacies of the technology,” as are content producers who attempt to register for copyright protections only to have the system crash, she said. “We don’t have enough staff,” and the office is working hard to “retrain and redirect the staff we do have” to handle the changing technological landscape, Pallante continued. She also urged subcommittee members to consider giving the Copyright Office “a little more control over the budget.” Fees that come into the office “are often offset against our appropriations,” when they could be used to improve the office’s technological resources, she said. “We need to know what Congress wants the office to be."
"It’s obvious that we have to do a better job on enforcement” of copyright law, said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif. Despite the high levels of copyright infringement on the Internet, “only a small number” of operators of these websites ever face punishment, she said, asking Pallante how Congress could revise copyright law to encourage more enforcement. Pallante suggested that Congress update provisions regarding illegal streaming of infringing content because of the high volume of infringing content that is streamed online, rather than downloaded or physically distributed. Individuals that access illegally streamed content could face criminal penalties, rather than just a misdemeanor charge, she continued, suggesting that the optimal solution would contain legislation as well as self regulation on the part of the content production industry. “I think that’s probably the innovative thing to do to keep it flexible and nimble,” she said.
The U.S. government’s hands are tied on certain copyright provisions because of free trade agreements it has entered into with other countries, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said. In asking about copyright issues, including the recent debate over cellphone unlocking, Chaffetz said he was hoping to highlight “the need to address these issues as we do free trade agreements.” Chaffetz also asked Pallante to comment on music licensing problems within the current copyright framework. “Music licensing is so complicated and so broken, that if we can get that right, I would be very optimistic about getting the entire statute right,” Pallante said.
Pallante also commented on the recent Supreme Court ruling in Kirtsaeng V. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. “I understand the reasoning of the Supreme Court,” which had to debate “two competing provisions in an aging statute,” she said, referring to the first sale doctrine and the law’s provisions regarding importation. Pallante asked the subcommittee to consider what rights “authors and creators need in the 21st century. Are geographic considerations among them?"