The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (HR 2426) would establish a small claims court for copyright claims. Small artists face real challenges enforcing their copyrights; unfortunately, the proposed legislation won’t effectively help individual artists and will instead only create new problems for Americans. The Case Against the CASE Act The CASE Act doesn’t actually help small artists…

 **CASE ACT SPECIAL EDITION** Public Knowledge: CASE Act Isn’t The Right Solution For Artists. Public Knowledge raised concerns with the re-introduction of the CASE Act to start a copyright small claims board at the U.S. Copyright Office. Their opposition centers on language in the bill that “further entrenches an already-toxic culture of secrecy within major entertainment industries…and creates a body that can…

Can Laws Be Copyrighted? A new copyright lawsuit asks: can you copyright the law? The startup UpCodes was founded to simplify the construction process, giving users access to building codes, code updates and local amendments in 32 states. The complexities of code compliance have “been cited as a key reason for reduced productivity in the construction industry and rising home…

Annual Report Shows Entertainment Industry Sees Continued Revenue Growth and Diversification. CCIA this week released its “The Sky is Rising” report which finds that the amount of content being produced and consumed is more diverse and growing faster than ever. Co-authored by researcher Leigh Beadon and analyst and CEO of the Copia Institute Mike Masnick, the report is an update…

Earlier today, Morning Consult published an op-ed from Re:Create executive director Josh Lamel on the EU copyright directive — specifically how it is not a viable framework for US policy — and the importance of Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Below are excerpts from the op-ed. “Here in the United States, we already have a system of…

**DMCA Section 512 Special Edition** U.S. Copyright Office Holding Section 512 Roundtable On April 8. The U.S. Copyright Office will hold a public roundtable for its study on section 512 on April 8 at the Library of Congress – Madison Building in Washington, D.C. Members of the Re:Create Coalition along with other stakeholders will be participating in strong support for…

Article 13 Will Hurt Creators, Consumers & Startups. On March 26, the European Parliament gave final approval of the controversial Copyright Directive, which includes provisions to mandate upload filtering on sites like Wikipedia, Reddit, YouTube and more. The Verge and other outlets noted the approval came despite widespread European opposition to Article 13, including 100,000 protesters and a petition with…

U.S. Copyright Office Holding Section 512 Roundtable On April 8. The U.S. Copyright Office will hold a public roundtable for its study on section 512 on April 8 at the Library of Congress’s Madison Building in Washington, D.C. Stay tuned for more from the Re:Create Coalition as stakeholders prepare to participate in strong support for the current DMCA safe harbor…

Thousands Rally In “We Are Not Bots Rally” Protesting EU Copyright Directive. An estimated 5,000 braved the cold in Berlin on March 2 to protest the upload filter provisions in Article 13 of the EU Copyright Directive. According to a report by GlobalVoices, it was the third in a series of protests leading up to a day of European Union-wide…

14 Amicus Briefs Filed In Support Of Google Petition In Oracle Case. Jonathan Band posted a Project Disco roundup of the 14 amicus briefs filed in support of Google’s petition to the Supreme Court in the ongoing copyright dispute with Oracle. The blog captured the leading arguments from some of the nation’s leading IP scholars, computer scientists and software firms….