Library of Congress: The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world and serves as the research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Home to over 170 million works, it provides an unparalleled record of human creativity and plays an important role in fostering long term preservation of the cultural record…

One of the most frequently invoked and most compelling policy arguments for permitting unlicensed AI training is that obtaining specific permission to train on billions or trillions of copyrighted works is impossible and throttling AI development with impossible demands would have starkly negative economic and national security consequences. As one prominent commentator recently put it, “[Y]ou just can’t do that…

Following the release of the White House’s “America’s AI Action Plan,” organizations across various industry sectors commented on the plan’s impact on their efforts. Although the plan did not directly address copyright and AI, the President stated in his speech at last week’s AI Summit that additional copyright regulations could hinder America’s innovation agenda, and that the current copyright system…

In March, Americans of all backgrounds submitted their thoughts and ideas to the White House’s AI Action plan, including recommendations from large tech companies, libraries, Hollywood actors, news organizations, and many others. Yesterday the Administration released “America’s AI Action Plan” and acknowledged what Re:Create and our members have long said: America’s copyright system is equipped to handle emerging technology without…

As a child of the 1990s, everywhere I look I am confronted with reboots of the culture of my youth. Some of them are fun: my kids are wearing ridiculously baggy pants, flannel shirts, and Doc Martens just like I used to; the bands I like are reuniting for tours and documentaries. Some of these reboots are not so fun,…

When I was a kid, I liked to draw Marvel and Disney characters. It was how I first got interested in drawing and how I participated in those fictional worlds—a 10-year-old’s 1980s version of fan fiction. I made dozens of Wolverines and Donald Ducks, and neither Walt Disney nor Stan Lee ever sent lawyers around to knock the pencil out…

For months those of us who follow fair use closely and understand how the doctrine is applied in courts have had to swallow hard and count to 10 while partisans in the AI wars declared, based on no evidence, that all AI training is obviously infringing. These declarations were so obnoxious to the fair use community because we knew, based…

Understanding our nation’s copyright law is important, but also complex. The below glossary of key copyright terms is a resource to help promote informed discussions about copyright policy.  The US Copyright Office: Housed within the Library of Congress, the US Copyright Office (USCO) is the United States government body that creates and maintains records of copyright registrations and other transactions, provides deposit…

Register of Copyrights: The Register of Copyrights is the head of the U.S. Copyright Office and is charged with “All administrative functions and duties” under the Copyright Act, most importantly administering the copyright registration system. Additionally, the Register is tasked with advising Congress, Federal departments and agencies, and the Judiciary on national and international issues relating to copyright, participating in…