Copyright Office's Role Could Change With Break From Library of Congress, Wilkinson Barker Lawyer Says

Congress’ ongoing examination of whether to make the U.S. Copyright Office an agency independent of the Library of Congress continues to raise questions over how the Copyright Office would function, given the potential for the agency to then become a rulemaking body, Wilkinson Barker lawyer David Oxenford said in a blog post Monday. The Copyright Office’s recommendations are currently only recommendations to Congress on changes to copyright law rather than true rulemakings because the Library of Congress “technically reports to Congress, not the President, and thus the arguments are that the Library is not a true executive agency (though the President does appoint the Librarian of Congress),” Oxenford said in the blog post. If the Copyright Office became an independent agency, “Congress would not need to get involved in details of Copyright law changes, but instead could enact a broader statute and let the Copyright Office fill in the details, just as the FCC decides how to enforce the Communications Act,” Oxenford said. Congress is seeking ways to increase its oversight of the FCC, which Oxenford said raises the question, “Is Congress ... ready to give up that same kind of oversight over Copyright policy?”