Artists, Music Industry Urge Reform Of “Broken” DMCA

Arguing that the copyright law in the United States intended to protect creative works while allowing access by the next creators is “broken”, hundreds of top artists, songwriters, managers and music associations are urging reforms to the law. Top performers like Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera joined the call.

“Hundreds of artists, songwriters, managers and music organizations today are calling for reforms of the broken Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),” the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said in a statement to journalists. “Nearly 400 individual artists, songwriters, managers, and music organizations have joined together to argue for reforms to federal laws to strengthen the music economy and create a healthier, more stable music ecosystem for the next generation of singers, songwriters, and musicians.”

Comments were due by 1 April for the US Copyright Office study on DMCA Section 512, more information here.

RIAA added:

“Artists spanning a variety of genres and generations are submitting comments to the federal government’s U.S. Copyright Office today and tomorrow demanding reforms to the antiquated DMCA which forces creators to police the entire Internet for instances of theft, placing an undue burden on these artists and unfairly favoring technology companies and rogue pirate sites.”

“Simultaneously, 18 separate major music organizations representing virtually the entire music community submitted a united 100-page joint brief explaining the myriad flaws in the DMCA – a law passed during the dial-up era – and calling for reforms.  And more than 40 managers, representing some of the most successful musicians in the world, separately explained how an increasingly broken law prevents a growing number of musicians from earning a living.  All these diverse voices agree that the DMCA has failed to effectively prevent piracy and has distorted the music economy, undermining the next generation of creators and putting our cultural heritage at risk.”

The 1998 DMCA implemented the two World Intellectual Property Organization “Internet treaties.” More information on the DMCA is available on Wikipedia here.

The particular target of complaint by the creators is the notice-and-takedown rule in DMCA, under which allegedly infringing content must be taken down in a reasonable fashion after notification from the rights holders. The creators say this is outdated and does not work to stop the content from quickly reappearing in the digital age.

The filing documents and petitions are available below (all pdf files):

Artists & Songwriters Petition on DMCA

Creators Petition on DMCA

Music Managers Filing on DMCA

Music Community Submission in re DMCA 512

Backgrounder on United Music Community DMCA Filing

The US Copyright Office invited submissions on reform by 1 April. Today, it announced an extension of the deadline for requests to participate in its upcoming roundtables on the reform. Here is the official announcement:

Copyright Office Extends Time to Submit Requests to Participate in 512 Roundtable Discussions

The United States Copyright Office is extending the deadline for the submission of requests to participate in the section 512 roundtables in New York and California, which were announced in its March 18, 2016 Notice of Inquiry.  The roundtables, to take place in New York, New York on May 2 and 3, 2016, and Stanford, California on May 12 and 13, 2016, will offer an opportunity for interested parties to comment on topics relating to the DMCA notice-and-takedown system, as set forth in the Notice of Inquiry issued by the Office on December 31, 2015.  Those seeking to participate in the roundtables should complete and submit the online form available at http://copyright.gov/policy/section512/public-roundtable/participate-request.html.  Requests to participate must now be received by the Copyright Office no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 11, 2016.  The Office expects to post the agenda for the New York and California roundtables, including the participants for each session, on or about April 18, 2016.  For further information about the section 512 study and roundtable, please see http://copyright.gov/policy/section512/.

 

Image Credits: RIAA