William F. Smith: “Mr. Speaker, our country has long worked to support and protect copyright holders to ensure they receive fair…”

“Mr. Speaker, our country has long worked to support and protect copyright holders to ensure they receive fair compensation for their creative works. Over the last 20 years, Congress has attempted to develop the appropriate mechanism to govern royalties; that is, how to distribute royalties to those who create and how to adjust royalties when necessary. In other words, we have tried to find a compromise that allows for the fair distribution of royalties when two parties cannot agree on the value of a creative work. When I say 'fair distribution of royalties' that could mean many things to different parties, particularly the creators of copyrighted works themselves. It is a major reason why this issue is again before Congress. Congress established the first entity to deal with this in 1976. Ten years ago, that system was abolished to create the current Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel, or CARP, system. This legislation that I authored addresses the main problem: frivolous royalty claims, which is a growing trend, as well as decisions made by the copyright panel that are unpredictable and inconsistent.”