Blockchain and Copyright

Advances in the field of digital technology are constantly introducing new levels of controversy into copyright policy. Blockchain is the most recent technology with significative impact in digital copyright. Combined with smart contracts, blockchain enables new efficient forms of distribution of copyrighted works and also a new model of private ordering regarding the control of uses of works on the Internet. The chapter aims to examine the relationship and the most relevant intersections between blockchain, digital exploitation of copyrighted works, copyright law, and privacy law.

THE CASE ACT: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNET STUDIES RESEARCH

Copyright policy is inextricably entangled with the work of academic researchers on Internet culture. This paper examines a new U.S. law, the CASE Act, which creates a new venue for resolving copyright disputes for up to $30,000. We discuss the implications of such a venue for U.S.-based internet studies research.

Washington Hotline

Copyright expectations for the 117th CongressAdvocates for balanced copyright policy might assume, now that both houses of Congress have a slim Democratic majority, that any copyright-related legislative activity would be more favorable to the public. That assumption would be wrong.

The Limits of Copyright Office Expertise

The mismatch between the expanding administrative and regulatory obligations of the United States Copyright Office and its limited institutional expertise is an emerging problem for the copyright system. The Office’s chief responsibility—registration and recordation of copyright claims—has taken a back seat in recent years to a more ambitious set of substantive rulemakings and policy recommendations. As the triennial rulemaking under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act highlights, the Office is frequently called upon to answer technological questions far beyond its plausible claims of subject matter expertise. This Article traces the Office’s history, identifies its substantial but discrete areas of expertise, and reveals the ways in which the Office has overstepped any reasonable definition of its expert knowledge. The Article concludes with a set ofrecommendations to better align the Office’s agenda with its expertise by, first, reducing the current regulatory burdens on the Office, and second, building greater technological and economic competence within the Office, better equipping it to address contemporary questions of copyright policy.

“Innovate First, Permission Later”

This chapter provides a thorough exploration of Google’s copyright policy agenda. The traditional approach to copyright assumes permission from rightsholders is required to use copyright subject matter, unless the law provides otherwise. Google challenges this assumption. Google views copyright law from the perspective of an innovator and submits that a “permission first, innovate later” approach to copyright chills innovation. According to Google, to ensure continued technological advancement, copyright must be limited. Google’s copyright policy framework prioritizes public rights to access and engage with information and content, including strong and flexible exceptions to copyright and limitations on liability. Underpinning Google’s framework is a philosophy that technological innovation is virtuous, supporting economic and social progress.