Chris Coons: “I would like to thank Senator Hatch for his leadership on intellectual property issues throughout his distinguished…”

“I would like to thank Senator Hatch for his leadership on intellectual property issues throughout his distinguished career in the Senate. I was pleased to join him in securing the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in the last Congress, which established a Federal civil right of action to protect this valuable form of intellectual property. Likewise, I am pleased to join Senator Hatch as a cosponsor on the Music Modernization Act. This important piece of legislation will bring much-needed transparency and efficiency to the music marketplace and more fairly compensate songwriters for their valuable creative work. I note that there are some outstanding issues in the latter part of the bill that remain to be resolved with broadcasters and other music licensees. Senator Hatch has indicated to me that he intends to work through these issues as the bill moves from introduction to markup so that we can have the broadest consensus possible for this legislation. I thank Senator Hatch for this commitment and commend him for his leadership on ensuring that the copyright laws stay apace with evolving technology.”