**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 the current DMCA safe harbor provisions that enable online platforms that support creativity and economic growth.
LA Times Ed Board Weighs In On Safe Harbors. As the EU moves toward mandatory content filtering, the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board wrote in support of the existing American balanced copyright framework as a model that enables innovation and creativity without infringing on rightsholders’ original work. While major tech players may be able to weather the increased costs and risks of infringement liability, the futures of smaller platforms are unclear: “The U.S. model has allowed companies and creators to innovate without having to seek permission from copyright holders, as long as they do not infringe. The new European Union directive threatens that spirit, to its members’ detriment.”
Video: Understanding Section 512 Of The DMCA. The Re:Create Coalition’s video illustrates the important role Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) plays in protecting free speech online. The internet economy requires a delicate balance between protecting copyrighted content online and giving consumers and creators the freedom to legally access and add to existing materials. The video helps explain why protecting Section 512 from attack is crucial to maintaining this balance and to promoting online creativity and innovation.
Dear Copyright Office, Safe Harbors Work. The Re:Create Coalition, its members and a number of other organizations submitted reply comments to the Copyright Office in February 2017 as part of the its ongoing copyright review process. The comments collectively highlighted the importance of safe harbor provisions in fostering creativity and innovation on the internet. “Thanks to the openness of the user-generated platforms on the internet enabled by Section 512 of the DMCA, there is now a growing and important class of ‘new creators,’” Re:Create noted in its comments. Meanwhile, the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote, “The safe harbors help protect the Internet as a viable and accessible platform for free expression and innovation…” Check out highlights from the comments here, which include perspectives from FreedomWorks, the Institute for Intellectual Property & Social Justice, Engine, Public Knowledge, R Street Institute, Center for Democracy & Technology, and many more.
Opinion: Don’t Take Down Notice-And-Takedown. Law professors Christopher Sprigman and Mark Lemley penned an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times on Why notice-and-takedown is a bit of copyright law worth saving during the initial round of roundtables in 2016. They explained how the DMCA “makes the Internet as we know it today possible” and cautions against heeding the entertainment’s attempts to implement “notice and staydown,” which would chill free speech and prevent future innovators from competing in the internet economy. “The DMCA is…a compromise. Technology companies remove pirated content by their users. Entertainment companies must proactively identify that pirated content. It’s not a perfect system, but it works — and because of it, the Internet works too,” they wrote.