The House passed the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR-1695) Wednesday, as expected (see 1704200047 and 1704250063), voting 378-48 in favor of the legislation. The bill would make register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term (see 1703230068). House Republicans voted 233-2 for HR-1695, while House Democrats split 145-46 in favor of the bill. Lopsided Democratic support for HR-1695 appeared to track with predictions by content-side stakeholders of significant support from the caucus. Tech sector lobbyists, who were unsure ahead of the roll call about how House Democrats would vote, indicated they still believe the bill faces an uncertain future in the more evenly divided Senate.
Jimm Phillips
Jimm Phillips, Associate Editor, covers telecommunications policymaking in Congress for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2012 after stints at the Washington Post and the American Independent News Network. Phillips is a Maryland native who graduated from American University. You can follow him on Twitter: @JLPhillipsDC
The House appeared all but certain at our deadline to be on track to pass the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR-1695) Wednesday, with several lobbyists telling us they will closely watch the margin of opposition the bill gets from House Democrats as an indicator of the bill's trajectory in the Senate. House Republicans appeared likely to give unanimous support to the bill, while House Democrats have been divided on it (see 1704200047). HR-1695 would make the register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term (see 1703230068).
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and other Democratic lawmakers filed at least three proposed amendments to the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR-1695) by our deadline Monday. The bill, now confirmed as expected for a Wednesday floor vote (see 1704200047), would make the register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term (see 1703230068). The House is expected to pass HR-1695 via unified Republican support (see 1704210064), but it remains unclear how many House Democrats will support the bill.
Top tech sector firms and groups lobbied during Q1 against several of President Donald Trump’s policy proposals, most notably the Trump administration’s immigration executive orders, disclosure filings show. Tech’s monthslong battle against some Trump priorities intermingled with the sector’s more traditional policy interests, notably Copyright Office modernization, emerging technologies and privacy protections. Q1 lobbying filings were due Thursday. Many tech companies increased their Q1 lobbying expenditures over what they spent during the same period last year, though Google, Intel and Yahoo reported lower spending. AT&T led the telecom sector in Q1 lobbying, spending more than $1 million more than rival Verizon (see 1704210046).
The House is set to consider the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR-1695) next week when it reconvenes after the spring recess, with a floor vote likely as soon as Wednesday, lawyers and lobbyists said in interviews. The bill would make the register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term (see 1703230068). House passage of HR-1695 appears near certain amid perceived Republican caucus unity in favor of the bill, but a simmering Democratic caucus split over the legislation is prompting supporters to redouble their lobbying efforts ahead of the vote, lobbyists said.
Tech and content industry lawyers and lobbyists pushed back Tuesday against the Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force's proposal to create a multistakeholder process to establish voluntary best practices on communicating online transaction license terms and restrictions to consumers, as expected (see 1704170044). The IPTF and the Patent and Trademark Office met with stakeholders to explore whether to pursue the proposal, which the task force included in its 2016 white paper that opposed using legislation to address digital transmissions’ place in the existing first-sale doctrine (see 1601280065 and 1703200036).
The Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force’s planned Tuesday public meeting on communicating online transaction license terms and restrictions to consumers is likely to produce a lively debate among digital rights groups, content-side stakeholders and the tech sector, several officials said. But it’s unclear whether the IPTF will take more concrete steps like convening a proposed multistakeholder process to establish best practices for licensing language, amid perceptions of industry resistance, they said. The IPTF and the Patent and Trademark Office said the meeting is a follow-up to the task force’s 2016 white paper that opposed using legislation to address digital transmissions’ place in the existing first-sale doctrine. That paper recommended establishing voluntary best practices on licensing language (see 1601280065 and 1703200036). The meeting is set for 1-5 p.m. at the Global Intellectual Property Academy in PTO's Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters.
Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability's work on recommendations about the organization's jurisdictional issues appears to be progressing. U.S. officials tell us they're more confident the working group won't seek to move ICANN's place of incorporation from Los Angeles. CCWG-Accountability is examining ICANN's jurisdiction as part of its work on a second set of recommended changes to the organization's accountability mechanisms (see 1610030042). U.S. interests raised concerns earlier this year about the CCWG-Accountability Jurisdiction Subgroup's work (see 1701030021).
Congress appears to be delaying development of online sales tax legislation until legal challenges to state laws make it through the courts, lawyers and lobbyists said in interviews. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and other lawmakers who led past online sales tax legislation initiatives indicated continued interest in the issue but haven't reintroduced their bills. The issue also appears unlikely to be wrapped into the larger tax law revamp debate being spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s administration and Capitol Hill Republicans, officials said.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology should be cautious in finalizing language in its draft v1.1 update to the Cybersecurity Framework on developing effective cybersecurity metrics, and should ensure the private sector continues to take the lead in developing the process for implementing the framework, stakeholders commented. NIST sought comment in January on the framework update, which included metrics language aimed at starting a conversation on how to effectively measure use of the framework (see 1701100084). The comments will aid in structuring discussions during NIST's planned May 16-17 framework workshop in Gaithersburg, Maryland, the agency said.