Keynote Speaker: Congresswomen Judy Chu (D-CA) (House
Judiciary, IP Subcommittee)
There can be bipartisan agreement; there’s no obvious
Democratic/Republican point of view, and we could get something done. Copyright is important in her district—Pasadena/LA. Influenced by entertainment industry, not
with chart-toppers but set designers, makeup artists, lighting
technicians. Copyright is fundamental to
this country. Constitution, American
economy/culture. More than $1 trillion
to GDP; $142 billion foreign sales/exports.
Always positive trade balance.
Original works can’t be duplicated anywhere else (RT: although it helps
if they’re filmed in New Zealand).
Reform: Multiple stakeholders have views on best
approach. She advocates for the everyday
creator, who often doesn’t have a voice in Congress. We all witnessed unraveling of SOPA. She supported SOPA as a way to combat rampant
piracy in this country. (In this
country? I thought you told us it was to
deal with pirates outside the reach of US law ….) Was dismayed by hysterical
accusations about breaking the internet.
Defeat made clear that concerns of creative community weren’t heard. Thus, she launched Congressional Creative
Rights Caucus, with her chair Coble. To
help members of Congress understand everyday Americans whose jobs rely on these
industries and rely on Congress to protect their rights. 53 members strong over 17 states,
bipartisan. Active in hosting
educational briefings/events—songwriters talked about absurdly low payments for
digital streaming; photographers speak about thumbnail images being higher
quality so their livelihood is threatened when users don’t click through;
recording artists talk about lack of compensation for terrestrial radio; next
month a briefing for authors/publishers.
Upcoming: Rock the House competition, modeled on a competition in
Parliament, to stop eyes from glazing over. Challenged members to choose the
best song from groups w/in their districts.
Greatest victory: members of Parliament became engaged in IP issues, and
eventually copyright law changed for the better.
Judiciary IP subcommittee: going section by section into the
Act. Needs of creators/public have
evolved so much since last major action.
New tech poses challenges, as fair use and digital first sale hearings
showed. Most witnesses agreed no action
on fair use was required for parodies/quotes, but recent decisions have allowed
the expansion of fair use in Google Books, and an increasing number of remixes/mashups
allow significant sections of an artist’s work to be inserted without
compensation—should Congress intervene?
Should Congress intervene in first sale?
She is hopeful we can move the needle on key issues,
particularly in music licensing. Fair
compensation for all artists across all platforms. Cosponsored Songwriter Equity Act—not fair
that songwriter only makes 8 cents for 1000 digital streams. Music licensing is not working for all
creators on digital radio—rates need to be updated to reflect fair market value
under willing buyer/willing seller standard, and rate courts should be able to
consider other royalties when considering digital royalties. Also supports
efforts to reform consent decree which has kept streaming rates artificially
low. DoJ is reviewing the consent decree—an
important step forward.
Another bill: RESPECT Act—Respecting Senior Performers as
Essential Cultural Treasures Act (sigh).
All artists should be fairly compensated regardless of platform, but
because of federal statutory license, legacy artists get nothing for digital
radio if their works predate 1972. Entire channels are dedicated to music from
40s, 50s, and 60s where no artist gets compensated, losing estimated $60
million in royalties in 2013. Many can’t make a living touring/selling records
because of their age. This legislation would fix disparity in state/federal
law. Some of the biggest digital radio companies
take advantage of this loophole.
Performance rights for terrestrial radio: the long fight. Nearly all the industrialized countries
compensate for radio play, but we’re like North Korea and Iran. (I fully support this reform, though I’d
rather move us out of the holdout
category for paid maternity leave first.)
Also we can’t take advantage of reciprocity in foreign countries. Session artists etc. really need this income.
SOPA: where can we make change on piracy? Voluntary
agreements show a lot of promise. Internet
infringement costs $250 billion/year and robs American workers of 750,000
jobs. Lose $16.3 billion in earnings/year
to infringement. Copyright Alert system
is voluntary, with progressive series of notifications. Fair, user-friendly, with built-in consumer
protections. After 1 year, the program
has been smooth and successful, with 1.3 million copyright alerts. Slated to double notices in the coming
year.
Voluntary efforts can also improve notice and takedown’s
whackamole problem. Current system is
ineffective, forcing industry to employ armies of employees just to issue
takedowns. The individual creator doesn’t have armies. Marie Schneider testified that she struggles
against endless sites offering her music illegally, and takedown system is
frustrating because when she issues a takedown the music reappears on similar
or even the same site. PTO is now
conducting roundtables on how to make these work better. These notices should
at least be standardized.
Role of search.
Congress was concerned that infringing sites are still prioritized in
Google search results, and autocomplete makes finding infringing content
easier, even after Google’s algorithm change in 2012. At that hearing, she put “watch 12 Years a
Slave” on her iPad, and the first/second sites were infringing. (Now the first result is Google Play,
BTW.) Not much has changed. Search engines play a critical role in
leading consumers to infringing sites—more than 4 billion referrals a year, and
millions sought infringing content during one month alone. Search engines could
do a better job of deprioritizing illegal sites, since over 90 legit services
download/stream content. Voluntary agreements need to find a way to make this
happen.
The administration plays a key role. IPEC: Victoria Espinel was key in
coordinating Copyright Alert system.
CO: Congress is central to 21st Century CO. Supports funding the effort to have multiyear
technical upgrade, including digital repository and reengineering
recordation. Result: $1.2 million more
than CO’s overall budget request, with $1.5 million for the project. Now it’s
up to the Senate.
Stories of artists who have to tour because they can’t
afford not to, or die in poverty because they don’t get radio royalties. (Artists are just an instance of our large
social transfer of risk to individuals. How
about a guaranteed basic national income? Why should you have to write a hit
song to avoid dying in poverty?)
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