As a further update on the US copyright reform process, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, held a hearing on July 15, 2014, on moral rights, termination rights, resale rights, and copyright term.

We offer the following guide to the hearing testimony for your benefit. Recorded hearings can have late starts and long pauses for recesses. You will find it most helpful to follow our guide, below, so you can scrub to relevant parts of testimony, easily and as needed.

The hearing page with speaker and witness names, bios and written statements are available here. Please take time to read testimony and watch hearing segments of interest to you.

Times are close but approximate.

Opening Remarks

Chairman Coble:  00:53:59

  • This hearing addresses the rights of the "little guy"
  • He is "not uncomfortable with the idea of a resale royalty right"

Rep. Conyers 00:56:00

  • "copyright system should fairly compensate its creators"
  • Is the current approach to moral rights sufficient?
  • Visual artists work at a disadvantage under current copyright law relative to other artists vis-a-vis resale royalties.
  • Current term length is appropriate

The Honorable Bob Goodlatte 01:04:07

  • General opening remarks about the purpose of the hearing

Rep. Adler 01:06:22

  • Berne Conventions states resale royalty right is optional, therefore US artists cannot benefit from resale in other countries.
  • 70 countries provide resale rights
  • Introduced HR 4103 American Royalties Too Act of 2014 to enable resale rights to US artists.
  • USCO now supports a limited resale royalty right, marking a change from its 1992 opinion.

Introduction of witnesses 01:11:14

Testimony (with links to bios and written statements)

Ms. Karyn A. Temple Claggett 01:13:50

  • complexities of enacting resale royalties

Mr. Rick Carnes 01:19:29

  1. Moral rights, as they relate to song writers - creator has right to control, and receive attribution.
  2. Need balance in Fair Use - leave it alone.
  3. Do NOT reduce current copyright term.
  4. Support right of termination for creators.

Mr. Casey Rae 01:24:18

  • In support of termination rights for musicians, particularly needed because of the expanded marketplace.
  • Artists are not employees of record companies.
  • Would consider modification of copyright term as proposed by Register Pallante, i.e., re-register after 50 years.
  • Moral rights - authors, musicians, producers need technical attribution help appropriate for the internet.

Mr. Michael W. Carroll 01:30:44

  • As lead figure for Creative Commons in US, he feels copyright term is far too long.
  • As history with 500 million CC license users shows, creators want attribution more than compensation.
  • Seeks clarification on how people may easily waive their copyright to move into public domain.
  • Supports Rep. Lofgren, along with Register Pallante, on Public Domain Enhancement Act.

Mr. Thomas D. Sydnor II 01:36:22

  • Copyright term - in reality, the practical term of copyright on the internet is measured in days.
  • Why did copyright term change over time?

Questions 02:42:25

Short but interesting question period (17 minutes). Worth a look!