Washington — Congress has wrapped several controversial copyright measures into a must-pass end of the year spending bill.
The intellectual property part of the legislation includes the CASE Act, the Trademark Modernization Act, and the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act. While the Computer & Communications Industry Association doesn’t oppose the language of the streaming proposal, it objects to the timing and the addition of proposals to make it easier to sue internet users and companies being added without a hearing or other vetting.
As CCIA previously testified in a hearing last Congress, the Association would support a small claims framework that provides individual rightsholders inexpensive relief from infringement while not enabling abusive litigants to short-circuit existing federal safeguards. Unfortunately, the way that the CASE Act is structured has serious problems.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Vice President of Public Policy Arthur Sidney:
“Shoehorning last-minute proposals that haven’t had a hearing into an end of the year spending bill is concerning both due to the controversial substance and the lack of due process. A proposal making it easier to sue internet users and small businesses and another proposal amending the Lanham Act, which rarely garners legislative attention, warrants hearings for stakeholders and thorough consideration by members of Congress.”