Home 5 Articles and Reports 5 Creatives Unite Against Efforts to Weaken Intellectual Property Protections

Creatives Unite Against Efforts to Weaken Intellectual Property Protections

by | Mar 22, 2023 | Articles and Reports, News

A New Civil War in the US Over State Bills on Copyright

A new civil war has erupted in America setting the creative community against those states seeking to pass “a series of unconstitutional state bills that would artificially depress the value of literary works and the contracts that govern intellectual property licenses”.

Authors, publishers and other bodies associated with creative content have joined forces with the Association of American Publishers to launch the Protect the Creative Community Coalition to tackle what it calls “efforts designed to weaken intellectual property protections and damage digital markets”.

The Coalition says: “Putting aside the chaos of enforcing state-specific rules within a far-reaching, global IP framework, the bills directly conflict with the federal Copyright Act, including the responsibilities of federal lawmakers to determine the nation’s IP laws.”

It continued: “Inexplicably, proponents continue to push their bills after a similar effort in Maryland was declared unconstitutional by a federal court in 2022. Bills in both New York and Virginia were also rejected, although not without ongoing, illogical and reckless claims by the proponents. In an especially ludicrous example in Connecticut, a proponent equated the Nation’s literary works with ‘floor wax and road salt”.

Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild said: “These bills are unconstitutional and for good reason. They target the federal copyright system that authors depend on to earning a living and they’re doing this at a time when the writing profession is already facing existential threats.

“Writers’ incomes have become precariously low, forcing talented writers to leave the profession; as a culture, we lose their books and their important insights. By forcing pricing limits and other restrictions on not just publishers but thousands of self-published authors, the bills exhibit total disregard of the reality that authors in the commercial marketplace have to earn enough money to stay in the profession. The Authors Guild is fully committed to libraries having access to all books and in all formats to meet their communities’ needs. We regularly lobby for increases in library funding. It is unfair to put the cost of libraries’ needs on authors.”

Maria Pallante, president and CEO of the AAP, added: “The problem is not theoretical. The state bills would subject authors and publishing houses of all sizes to serious liabilities and financial penalties for exercising the very rights that the Copyright Act so clearly affords them—the definition of a constitutional conflict. Moreover, they would forge a concerning precedent for downstream appropriation of IP investments by actors well beyond the states, especially as to already precarious digital copies. We stand by our time-tested copyright system, and we are deeply dubious of assertions that devaluing the nation’s creative output is in the public interest.”

 

Recent News

20Dec
Saudi Arabia’s Publishing Boom: Over 500 Houses Driving Growth

Saudi Arabia’s Publishing Boom: Over 500 Houses Driving Growth

According to the latest SME Monitor report released by Monsha’at, the Kingdom’s General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, Saudi Arabia’s publishing industry is witnessing remarkable growth. With over 500 local publishing houses operating across the Kingdom, the sector is making significant strides in bringing Saudi and Arabic-language literature to wider audiences.   The report […]

20Dec
Sharjah Ruler Honored Guinness Certificate for Arabic Dictionary

Sharjah Ruler Honored Guinness Certificate for Arabic Dictionary

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Supreme President of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah, has been awarded a Guinness World Records certificate recognizing the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language as the largest and most comprehensive historical linguistic project in the world, consisting […]

18Dec
How Is the “PublisHer” Paving the Way for Women to Lead the Publishing Industry?

How Is the “PublisHer” Paving the Way for Women to Lead the Publishing Industry?

The publishing industry is one of the most dynamic sectors globally, yet, like many creative fields, it grapples with persistent challenges related to achieving gender equality in the workplace. Although women constitute a significant portion of the workforce in this sector, they often face barriers that limit their access to leadership roles or hinder the […]

Related Posts

Sharjah Ruler Honored Guinness Certificate for Arabic Dictionary

Sharjah Ruler Honored Guinness Certificate for Arabic Dictionary

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Supreme President of the Arabic Language Academy in Sharjah, has been awarded a Guinness World Records certificate recognizing the Historical Dictionary of the...

Literary Celebration and Cultural Insights at Jeddah Book Fair 2024

Literary Celebration and Cultural Insights at Jeddah Book Fair 2024

The Jeddah Book Fair 2024 has opened its doors, welcoming over 1,000 publishers and agencies from 22 countries. The event celebrates literature and culture on a global scale. The Saudi Authority for Literature, Publishing, and Translation organized the fair at the...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this

Pin It on Pinterest