Washington – The Copyright Office released its report “Copyright Protections for Press Publishers” today. The report, at the request of Congress, evaluated the copyright protections for press publishers under existing law and recommended against adding European-style ancillary copyright rules.
According to a statement from the Copyright Office on the report, “After carefully evaluating the information provided, the Office does not recommend adopting additional copyright-like rights for press publishers in the United States. We have concluded that ancillary copyright protections have not been shown to be necessary in light of publishers’ existing rights, and would likely be ineffective so long as publishers depend on news aggregators for discoverability. Moreover, to the extent that any ancillary copyright protections would lack traditional copyright limitations and exceptions, they would raise significant policy and Constitutional concerns.”
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has advocated for access to information and against ancillary copyright in Europe for more than a decade.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President Matt Schruers:
“There’s no question that objective journalism is a public good and critical to informing voters, so we appreciate the Copyright Office’s conclusion that new, European-style regulations are not necessary given existing copyright protections for news content. The last thing Internet users need is a new tax aimed at subsidizing publishers.”
