Re:Create Recap – May 18, 2017

Re:Create Issues Statement On NAFTA Negotiations. The Re:Create Coalition today released a statement urging the Office of the United States Trade Representative to include language on copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use, if copyright law is part of the negotiations: “If NAFTA is renegotiated and if it includes a chapter on copyright, that chapter must have mandatory language on copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use. The United States cannot export one-sided enforcement provisions of copyright law without their equally important partner under U.S. law: fair use.”

Meet Eddie G!: Video Producer, Entertainer And New Creator. Eddie G! is a YouTube creator who began producing videos during his high school years in order to persuade the school administration to fund a computer lab. His two YouTube channels, OMG, it’s Eddie G and Show De Tiburcio have helped to foster an understanding of the Hispanic-American community by providing his unique perspective to online comedy and commentary. “There was a lot of content being created, but not a lot of content being created by people who looked like me,” he explained. Today, Eddie’s videos are used by teachers across the world to teach students about Hispanic-American culture.

U.S. Representatives Warn Politicization Would Undermine Copyright Office Modernization. During the floor debate in the U.S. House of Representatives in April, members expressed their opposition to H.R. 1695, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act. Rep. Jared Polis said, “It effectively politicizes the Office of the head of the Copyright Office.” Rep. Zoe Lofgren took to the floor to state, “The Library is finally making progress…This bill would actually disrupt that progress.”

In Support Of Strong Fair Use Protection. In a letter-to-the-editor published by the Los Angeles Times, attorney and copyright law professor Kenneth Crews argues that the codification of fair use would only serve to “erode the essential function of fair use in the copyright system.” In Crews’ letter – written in response to a recent op-ed in favor of flawed copyright reform proposals such as a “notice and staydown system” – he points to action by Congress and the courts that have resisted rigid definitions of fair use and concludes that an exact measure of fair use would “undercut its value for the promotion of new creativity.”

New Study: Online Video Platforms Like YouTube Provide Tremendous Value to Music Industry. A new study by RBB Economics demonstrates how online video platforms like YouTube provide a “market expansion effect” for the music industry despite the entertainment industry’s criticisms. A survey revealed if YouTube failed to exist, 85% of respondents would shift to “lower value channels” that provide less compensation to artists. In its coverage of the study, Tech Radar reported YouTube paid more than $1 billion in royalty fees to the music industry in 2016 from ad revenue.

Library of Congress Makes 25 Million Records Available To Public For Free. This week, the Library of Congress announced a record-breaking 25 million documents will be made available to the public for free for download, according to Fortune. “The Library of Congress is our nation’s monument to knowledge and we need to make sure the doors are open wide for everyone, not just physically but digitally too,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “Unlocking the rich data in the Library’s online catalog is a great step forward. I’m excited to see how people will put this information to use.”

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