“It's imperative that we continue pushing to protect” IP rights, said House Commerce Committee Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., at a news conference about an International Intellectual Property Alliance report that core copyright industries contributed $1.2 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product during 2015. The report “will help” the House Judiciary Committee in its work on possible legislation for its Copyright Act modernization review, said committee ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich. These are “tangible metrics” of the value of IP to the U.S. economy as House Judiciary considers its next steps on copyright legislation, said House IP Subcommittee Vice Chairman Doug Collins, R-Ga. Major U.S. copyright holders' sales of products to overseas markets increased to almost $177 billion in 2015, from $164 billion in 2014 and almost $155 billion in 2013, IIPA said.
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 Supreme Court ruled for Samsung Tuesday in its long patent case versus Apple, saying unanimously the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit must further reduce the damages Samsung owes after its 2012 loss of an Apple lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California. Justices considered in October Samsung's appeal of the Federal Circuit's May ruling that whittled down the damages owed in the 2012 patent infringement case to $548 million. Samsung sought a further reduction of $399 million in damages, claiming the Federal Circuit erred in saying Samsung owed damages on the total profit gained from an infringing device instead of the value of the components that were found to infringe on Apple's design patents (see 1610110046).
The Consumer Federation of America and others are expected to raise concerns during a to-be-rescheduled Public Knowledge briefing for congressional staffers about the cybersecurity and privacy implications of the auto industry’s dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology in connected cars. PK, CFA and other consumer advocates said they're concerned DSRC technology may not sufficiently protect against threats to cybersecurity and privacy ahead of a final National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rule on standards for the technology. PK is rescheduling the briefing, originally set for Tuesday, to better accommodate panelists and to avoid a time conflict, a spokeswoman said.
The Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity publicly released a set of recommendations Friday to the White House on actions the private and public sectors can take over the next decade to improve cyber defenses and raise cyber awareness. As expected, the six main recommendation areas aim to provide a blueprint for the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump's cybersecurity objectives (see 1611220065). CENC officially delivered its recommendations to President Barack Obama Thursday as directed in the White House's February Cybersecurity National Action Plan (see 1602090068).
Internet governance stakeholders must continue to pay attention to global policy developments in the years ahead to ensure new standards and regulations remain flexible enough to allow a continuation of the multistakeholder model and prevent wholesale fragmentation of the internet, said government officials and private sector experts Thursday. Internet governance remains a flashpoint globally via the ITU and other international forums despite ICANN's recent completion of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition (see 1610030042 and 1611180046).
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler won't continue to pursue a long-circulating proposal that would have set up a framework for the commission to hold confidential meetings with communications sector executives aimed at providing assurances on the firms’ cybersecurity practices, said multiple industry executives and lawyers in interviews. Wheeler proposed the meetings framework in a circulated policy statement that would have adopted the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council’s (CSRIC) 2015 report on recommendations for communications sector cybersecurity risk management, which included a voluntary commitment to participate in the meetings (see 1602220052). Abandoning the policy statement would call into question the durability of Wheeler’s “new paradigm” for the FCC’s role on cybersecurity issues, executives and lawyers said.
Former Registers of Copyrights Ralph Oman and Marybeth Peters urged leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees Monday to more seriously consider increased autonomy for the Copyright Office, after the ouster last month of Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante. Oman is now a copyright law professor at George Washington University Law School, and Peters is an IP adviser with Muncy Geissler. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden removed Pallante as register in October and appointed her to be LOC adviser for digital strategy. Pallante then resigned (see 1610210061 and 1610250062). Hayden's move drew criticism (see 1610240052 and 1611100037). The “unseemly dismissal” may have serious implications “for the future of the American copyright system,” Oman and Peters said in a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, we obtained. The letter also went to House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., and outgoing Senate Judiciary ranking member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Hayden’s decision to remove Pallante “only compounds our already serious concerns,” the former registers said. “The episode makes us question whether any Register, or the [CO] itself, can continue to serve the public interest under the current institutional framework. And we are concerned that in the current environment, many of the most qualified candidates will not seek the position.” The CO’s role has grown since its founding “and the competing missions and differing priorities of the [Library of Congress] and the [CO] have increasingly emerged as a source of tension,” Oman and Peters said. They said Pallante’s endorsement of the office's independence followed by Hayden’s decision to remove her “created these tensions,” which were “inevitable given the divergent roles of the two organizations.” Ultimately “the choice is stark,” the former registers said. “Does Congress want modernization and independent copyright advice straight and true from the expert agency, or does it want copyright administration and advice filtered through the lens -- and shaped by the perspective -- of the head of the national library?” CO modernization is likely to be a major part of any copyright legislation to emerge in the 115th Congress, and full separation from the LOC is one of several options being considered (see 1512140029, 1603300060 and 1607150022).
SiriusXM agreed to pay at least $25 million as part of a proposed settlement of Flo & Eddie’s class-action lawsuit against the streaming service, the musicians said Monday in a filing with U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The group, owners of The Turtles' “Happy Together” and the band's other music, sought compensation for performances of the Turtles' pre-1972 recordings. The Los Angeles federal court ruled in 2014 that California’s copyright laws allow a pre-’72 performance right (see 1410060047). As expected (see 1611280052), the proposed settlement (in Pacer) doesn’t preclude either Flo & Eddie or Sirius from continuing to pursue related cases currently on hold in the U.S. courts of appeals for the 2nd and 11th circuits. Flo & Eddie claimed in those lawsuits that common law statutes in Florida and New York allow a performance right on pre-’72 recordings.
Top Florida and New York state court reviews of the appeals of Flo & Eddie's lawsuits against SiriusXM are likely to proceed despite a proposed settlement of a similar lawsuit in California, though the settlement may influence the outcome of those reviews, industry lawyers said in interviews. Flo & Eddie, owners of The Turtles' “Happy Together” and the rest of the band's music, seek compensation from Sirius for performances of the Turtles' pre-’72 recordings. The Florida and New York courts are reviewing appeals of the Flo & Eddie lawsuit that are currently on hold in the U.S. courts of appeals for the 2nd and 11th circuits amid questions about whether those states’ laws recognize a right to pre-1972 sound recording performance royalties (see 1608050059 and 1610190053).
Any comprehensive copyright legislation will “come to fruition” and be effective only if it includes a provision establishing a centralized database of music ownership data, said Pandora General Counsel Steve Bene during an episode of C-SPAN’s The Communicators that was set to be telecast Saturday. The House and Senate Judiciary committees are expected to ramp up work in the 115th Congress on legislation stemming from House Judiciary's yearslong Copyright Act review. Copyright is one of several policy areas that Pandora has taken an interest in, as it increased its lobbying presence on Capitol Hill, Bene said.