Articles
The Summer of Copyright Continues for Photographers! Updates on the CASE Act’s Progress…
June 28, 2019
For the past few weeks, PPA’s Government Affairs Team has been hard at work spreading the word about the CASE Act. We have had multiple meetings on Capitol Hill, sent bi-weekly emails to staffers on the Hill, and engaged our members in grassroots efforts. So far, there are now 37 Representatives and 6 Senators who are co-sponsoring the bill!
On June 26th, the House Judiciary Committee held the first Copyright Oversight Hearing since 2015. During the hearing, members of the HJC asked questions and listened to testimony from Karyn Temple, the current Register of Copyrights for the U.S. Copyright Office (she’s the boss!). Almost all of the Representatives participating in the meeting have already signed on as co-sponsors for the CASE Act and most of them referenced the bill in their statements. Some also gave a shoutout to the creators who were in the audience at the hearing (thanks to those of you who attended)! The general consensus is that the CASE Act would be a great asset to small creators and would help fix the disparities present in the current copyright system. You can watch a recording of the hearing here!
So what’s next? The House Judiciary Committee will need to vote to see if they will introduce the bill to the entire House. The good news is, about half of the Committee is co-sponsoring the bill already so this should go smoothly. There usually is a “markup” or revision period for the bill as well but we hope that we will have such overwhelming support, that it will not be necessary. If the CASE Act is passed by the House, it will then go over to the Senate to do the whole process again.
While we are excited about the progress that has been made, we still have more work to do. Please continue to submit your letters to Congress via ppa.com/smallclaims and help us get the CASE Act passed!