5/24/18 5:00 pm 

Hi PPA! We just finished up another exciting day in D.C. with five meetings that all went well!

We started the day with Representative Rutherford’s office (R-FL). We have met with this office a couple of times before but wanted to make a point to circle back to them and update them on the status of the bill, answering any questions they may have regarding the CASE Act. This meeting went well and they stated how much they appreciated us circling back and updating them on the changes.

After meeting with Rep. Rutherford’s Office, we next met with Representative Cicilline's office (D-RI). As a reminder, Representative Cicilline is already a co-sponsor. It was important to meet with his office to thank him once again for his support but also urge him to push leadership to the front of the pack. We know Congress is dealing with a lot and we need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to ensure the CASE stays on their radar.

Our third meeting of the day was with Georgia’s Rep. Karen Handel. She is still relatively new to the House Judiciary Committee so we wanted to make sure her office was up to date on the CASE act. This includes the impact the bill would have and the language changes the bill has gone through to make the bill more straightforward. This was a great meeting, and we hope that Representative Handel’s office will go on to be big supporters of the bill.

Our next meeting of the day was with Representative Rothfus (R-PA). He is the newest member of the House Judiciary Committee. During this meeting, we laid the foundation for the CASE Act and the impact the bill would have all on small creators all the way across the board and how the bill has arrived at its current version. We were very well received by Representative Rothfus's office and we hope to circle back soon to continue to update them as time goes on.

Our last meeting of the day was with Representative Bigg’s office (R-AZ). We have meet with this office many times before, but we wanted to make sure to highlight the large impact the CASE Act would have on small businesses. We laid out a timeline for when we think the bill will move forward and we are hoping to have Representative Bigg’s support.

One thing we heard in all five of our meetings was that they are getting letters from YOU GUYS! This is very important that they brought this up. It means you are doing a good job sending letters, but we can't stop now. We are so close, and we need your letters now more then ever. Send your letters and share with your representative why H.R. 3945 is so important!

5/23/18 6:00 pm

Hi PPA! We just finished up our first day on Capitol Hill this week and it was a great success! We started the day at the Patent and Trademark Office. As a reminder, they are the other two entities that make up the Intellectual Property family (IP). It was great to talk to them about how they run things in their offices, how they have become self-funded, and to answer any questions they may have about H.R. 3945- CASE Act. After giving them a run-down of the bill and the large impact it would have on the creative community, they seemed very supportive of it and understood how beneficial CASE would be to the Copyright Office. As good as it is to have other entities of the IP world support this bill, keep in mind they, unfortunately, don’t get to vote on the bill. But having a unified push from the IP community is always a good thing!

After leaving the Patents and Trademark Office, we headed back to Capitol Hill and met with Representative Ratcliffe of Texas. We wanted to make sure we circled back to this office to inform them of the changes we have made to the bill and what the status of the bill currently is. This office understood why the bill is so important to small creators and wanted to take some time to look over it and make sure they didn’t have any questions or concerns. We are hoping that when the time comes Representative Ratcliffe will support the CASE Act and the small businesses of hundreds of thousands of creators across the country.

After leaving Rep. Ratcliffe we headed over to Representative Luis Gutierrez’s office of Illinois. Like other offices, we have met with them in the past but wanted to circle back for multiple reasons. They recently went through a staff change and wanted to take the time to bring the new staffer up to speed. Also, we wanted to share with the office the new changes that had been made to the bill. This office said once they had the opportunity to take a deep dive into the bill they would reach out to us further!

One thing to highlight is that in all our meeting the offices referred to getting your letters! This is great, but remember, we have to keep the pressure on! Contact your representative and remind them why the CASE Act is so important! 

5/23/18 10:00 am

Good Morning PPA!

You Advocacy Team has headed back to D.C again! We are making progress on small-claims copyright protection but it is important to make sure we continue to meet with Congress members and remind them why H.R 3935- The CASE act is so important.

Out first meeting today will be with the Patent and Trademarks Office (PTO). One of the main questions we have gotten from members of Congress is why the PTO is self-funded but not the Copyright Office. We are meeting with the PTO to explore their structure and see how we can ensure that on the passage of H.R 3945 the Copyright Office is able to become more self-funding. This is going to be a great meeting and we hope one that is going to have plenty of insight!

After leaving the PTO we are headed to Rep. John Ratcliffe’s office (R-TX). We have met with this office in the past, but want to circle back to them and emphasize why the CASE act is so important, urging them to co-sign or publically support the bill. We will be delivering your postcards to help make a larger impact and allow him to hear directly from his constituents!

Today will be a short day since we are getting into D.C. a little later than normal, but we can assure you that these meetings are a great start to the trip! We will keep you updated and, as always, watch out for live updates on Facebook and don’t forget to send your letters!