Patrick Ross

True Copyright Modernization

The Progress & Freedom Foundation has just published my speech from last week's Vegas Music Conference. In "Does Capitol Hill Have a Clue? A Call for True Copyright Modernization," I detail various copyright bills on Capitol Hill and suggest that most of the disputes involving them wouldn't exist if we insted eliminated compulsory licensing in music. There would be a short-term increase in transaction costs and some chaos in the market, but the shared incentives of all parties to see music distributed would lead to a voluntary licensing regime that would be fairer to artists. Congress likely would need to draft some language protecting intermediaries facilitating the licenses from antitrust action.

FYI, an hour before PFF published the speech as a Progress Snapshot, Lamar Smith of Texas, the congressman that sponsors two key copyright bills combined into one called the Copyright Modernization Act of 2006, pulled the legislation for the year and said he'll try the next Congress.

Copyright Reference Guide

The hyperlinked reference guide below is intended specifically for attendees of the Vegas Music Conference, particularly the artists' rights panel I'm participating in on September 21st, but anyone can feel free to use it or they can send this link to others.

General Copyright References

U.S. Copyright Office FAQ
Current copyright legislation in Congress (includes all bills below)

Sec. 115 Reform Act

Testimony and video from House Judiciary IP Subcommitte hearing 5/16/06
Backgrounder by Digital Media Association (DiMA)
Support from National Music Publishers Assn. (NMPA)
Tech Law Journal on Support and Opposition to SIRA
IP Attorney Chris Castle on problems with SIRA

Orphan Works Act

U.S. Copyright Office Report on Orphan Works including comments and roundtables
House Judiciary Committee hearing
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
American Library Assn. (ALA) support of Orphan Works Act
Illustrators Partnership index of opposition to Orphan Works Act
PFF Congressional Seminar on Orphan Works Act
Ross cautious endorsement

PERFORM Act

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
RIAA welcomes PERFORM Act
NMPA welcomes PERFORM Act
Web site opposed to PERFORM Act
Chris Castle on XM Satellite issue
PFF transcript of PERFORM Act Congressional Seminar

Audio Flag legislation

House Judiciary Committee hearing
Senate Commerce Committee hearing
CEI's Crews on Audio Flag and compulsory licenses (highly recommended reading)

Progress & Freedom Foundation Resources

Sumner Redstone on Copyright in a Digital Age
Ross on copyright term lengths
Richard Epstein on libertarians and IP
Ross on artists and culture
PFF Congressional Seminar on broadcast flag
Ross on compulsory licenses

For further resources visit PFF's Center for the Study of Digital Property, aka IPcentral.

Vegas Music Conference

Allow me to alert your attention to the Vegas Music Conference, which runs Sept. 21-23 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The conference offers 24/7 music from bands and DJs and even has a film festival. Oh, there are also some panel discussions, such as one titled "Protecting Your Music and Contract Negotiations" on Sept. 21; I'll be participating in that one. I won't be giving legal advice, fortunately, but instead have been asked to talk about artists' rights (an issue I enjoy writing about) and what's happening on the Hill. Among the legislation I'll be focusing on is the Copyright Modernization Act (a combination of the Sec. 115 Reform Act and the Orphan Works Act), the PERFORM Act, and the audio flag. I am not 100% comfortable with any of those bills, although all are well-intentioned.

Do's and Dont's for Global Media Regulation

Politicians love to stifle free expression. Congress recently increased indecency fines on broadcasters ten-fold, and now some stations are wary to air documentaries that contain salty language. Some in Congress want to extend those rules to cable and satellite platforms, despite that pesky First Amendment. And the Internet remains a favorite target, most recently social-networking sites.

Totalitarian states remain the poster children of such acts. But other democracies around the world are doing their level best to give U.S. politicians a run for their money. Several examples of this from around the globe are featured in "Do's and Dont's for Global Media Regulation: Empowering Expression, Consumers and Innovation," a Progress on Point that The Progress & Freedom Foundation has published today.  It focuses on Canada, Australia and Europe.

In that sense it builds on papers I've written on the Television without Frontiers Initiative (here and here) backed by European Commissioner Viviane Reding. The European Commission Committee on Culture is expected this month to issue a report on TVwF, so despite growing opposition to it among business leaders in Europe it appears not to be going away.

Thus, my paper proposes five reasonable Do's and Don'ts that policymakers in the US and abroad should follow to ensure free expression, innovation and consumer benefits:

1.  Do enforce existing child-protection laws.
2.  Don't distinguish between types of content delivery.
3.  Do harmonize by deregulating down.
4.  Don't discourage migration of content.
5.  Do support intellectual property rights.

These five principles will help policymakers avoid needlessly regulating new technologies, will avoid skewing the market by favoring one technology over another, but will not prevent prosecution of those engaging in criminal behavior. If applied in Canada, Australia, Europe or the US, everyone will win.