Author Topic: Copyright and the Law 2013 - 113th Congress (Read 2104 times)

RacePhoto · « **on:** January 30, 2013, 13:40 »

General Copyright Reform: 2013 will mark the 15th Anniversary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), watershed copyright legislation that implemented two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and Congress may well use this opportunity to review the general state of US copyright law, including whether the current “notice and take down” procedures instituted by the DMCA adequately protect copyright owners and online service providers alike, and well as whether current US copyright laws are adequate to deal with widespread international copyright infringement and counterfeiting practices.

http://www.copyrightalliance.org/2013/01/copyright_and_113th_congress#.UQjd9R2E2nO

Much more if they actually do anything but have meetings and discuss issues.

sdeva · « **Reply #1 on:** January 31, 2013, 07:46 »

That's interesting to know...

Here's one section from the text:

QUOTE
Small Copyright Claims:
One of the purposes of US copyright law is to provide copyright owners with a remedy for unauthorized uses of their creations, including by filing lawsuits in federal district courts. Not all copyright owners, however, have the economic resources or incentives to bring a federal lawsuit, which can require a great deal of time and money. While the Copyright Act offers the possibility of statutory damages and attorney’s fees, these benefits are not available in all cases, and even when they are, they may not be recovered until after a lengthy litigation that requires huge up-front costs. Congress has asked the Copyright Office to study the benefits and drawbacks of how current system resolves small copyright claim disputes, as well as possibility of future alternative systems. The Copyright Office has been engaging stakeholders on this issue and is scheduled to issue a report on this issue in the fall of 2013.
UNQUOTE

If an implementation could happen that makes it easy and cheap to pursue copyright violations (the small copyright claims), that would be great for the microstock world!!

Wondering - cant one of us who is in the States drop the copyright office a line and bring on note the frequent violations we experience in the microstock world? Its a real and ongoing issue and perhaps they may be interested to table it in their report? If that gets done it may have a far reaching impact in our industry...

RacePhoto · « **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2013, 12:16 »

Yeah I liked that too. Small Copyright Claims: Last time I mentioned it I got the usual "it will never work" and "it does no good" so the defeatists will never be happy, even if it's easier to prosecute, without going federal, without having a lawyer and without personally going to the state and location where the violation occurred.

Maybe at the same time, someone will wake up and see that DMCA is empty and stops nothing because there's no penalty. Next time you get a speeding ticket, just say, Oh I'm sorry, I'll go slower next time. And they won't give you a fine. Next shoplifter that gets caught with a half eaten candy bar, can just say, "I'll give back what's left. I didn't know it wasn't free." And they walk away without charges.

That what DMCA does. You say "I'll take it down", after you have to catch someone and they have been using your work for who knows how long (FREE!) and the crime goes away.

My personal answer is some reasonable, fine like $50 and once people had to pay these, it would be a quick learning experience across the web. Saying it's $250,000 per offense and it's impossible to collect, is just as useless as doing nothing.

Time the governments of the world turned around and protected artists rights (all creative artists!) on the web.

Sadstock · « **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2013, 13:44 »

The comment period is already over.
http://www.copyright.gov/docs/smallclaims/

But you can read the comments that were submitted
http://www.copyright.gov/docs/smallclaims/comments/noi_10112012/index.html
http://www.copyright.gov/docs/smallclaims/comments/

There also were public hearings in November, though they have not yet published the transcript.

sdeva · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2013, 17:40 »

Quote from: Sadstock on January 31, 2013, 13:44

The comment period is already over.
http://www.copyright.gov/docs/smallclaims/

But you can read the comments that were submitted
http://www.copyright.gov/docs/smallclaims/comments/noi_10112012/index.html
http://www.copyright.gov/docs/smallclaims/comments/

There also were public hearings in November, though they have not yet published the transcript.

Ok thanks very much for that post! Really interesting to see the number of photography related participants in small claims category ...

MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Author Topic: Copyright and the Law 2013 - 113th Congress (Read 2104 times)

RacePhoto

sdeva

RacePhoto

Sadstock

sdeva

Related Topics

Sponsors

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors