Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we in Congress are tasked in the Constitution with promoting science and the useful arts through giving authors and inventors the exclusive right to their writings and discoveries for a limited time. The first copyright act provided that the ``limited time'' would be a term of protection of 14 years, renewable once. Since that time, the copyright term has exploded to 95, or 120 years, or 70 years after the death of the artist, depending on the circumstance. I have serious concerns that these lengthy terms tip the balance toward limiting rather than promoting creativity and innovation. Unfortunately, a bill--the CLASSICS Act--currently under consideration in the Judiciary Committee blows past current U.S. copyright term to provide a windfall to a select few. The CLASSICS Act (Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society Act) would give up to 144 of exclusive copyright protection for digital transmissions of pre- 1972 sound recordings. Not only that, but it would create a hodge-podge of State and Federal rights, basically cherry-picking the most valuable right under the Federal regime and leaving the rest to be governed by States. This means that if a library wants to make a copy of a recording, and then digitally transmit that copy, it would have to navigate two different regimes--creating more uncertainty, not less. That is why, today, I am introducing the ACCESS to Recordings Act.…”