Copyright Legislation Should Ensure Strength of Fair Use, First Sale Doctrine, CCIA VP Says

Congress should ensure that any legislation that revamps portions of the Copyright Act maintains robust fair use and first sale doctrine protections because those exemptions are “as important” to the Copyright Act as the ownership rights the statute creates, said Computer & Communications Industry Association Vice President-Law and Policy Matthew Schruers during a CCIA webcast Tuesday. CCIA officially released a white paper Tuesday detailing its recommendations to the House Judiciary Committee on the contours of possible legislation to address issues the committee has explored in its ongoing Copyright Act review. The CCIA paper said new copyright bills should accommodate innovation in the tech sector and provide certainty to noncontent businesses affected by the Copyright Act, as expected (see 1508240041). CCIA took “no stated opinion” about whether the Copyright Office should be moved from the Library of Congress to another federal agency or become an independent agency, Schruers said. Efforts to concentrate legislative effort on the CO’s future status “in my view is putting the cart before the horse,” he said: “The question we should be asking is what do we need to ensure that the office better executes” its mission. “Where [the CO] belongs is really a secondary consideration that should be driven by how we’re going to modernize,” Schruers said. It’s unclear what revamp legislation is likeliest to emerge from House Judiciary’s work, he said, saying the 1976 Copyright Act revamp took more than 10 years but more targeted legislation has “happened faster than that.”