Answers to questions about Copyright in 2021 [Electronic Frontier Foundation]
Although they were easy to miss in the end of year kerfuffle, serveral new copyright bill and proposals were not only announced, but in some cases have already gone into law. Here, here we answer some questions about what the copyright landscape will look like moving into 2021.
In all the madness that made up the last month of 2020, a number of copyright bills and proposals popped up some even became law before most people had any chance to review them. So now that the dust has settled a little and we have some better idea what the landscape is going to look like, it is time to answer a few frequently asked questions.
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If there s one thing you could change in US copyright law, what would it be? Bill Patry, Senior Copyright Counsel at Google, says he would revise the current system where copyright holders can demand up to $150,000 in statutory damages, as it enables a copyright troll industry. At the same time, the seasoned lawyer warns that copyright trolls will exploit the new CASE Act too.
In many ways the U.S. is seen as the standard when it comes to copyright law. In some cases, it almost appears to be an export product in itself.
However, there are some American copyright elements that remain fairly unique.
In all the madness that made up the last month of 2020, a number of copyright bills and proposals popped up some even became law before most people had any chance to review them. So now that the dust has settled a little and we have some better idea what the landscape is going to look like, it is time to answer a few frequently asked questions.
What Happened?
In December 2020, Congress was rushing to pass a massive spending bill and coronavirus relief package. This was “must-pass” legislation, in the sense that if it didn’t pass there would be no money to do things like fund the government. Passing the package was further complicated by a couple of threats from President Trump to veto the bill unless certain things were in it.
When President Trump signed the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 into law on December 27, 2020, more than COVID-19 relief went into effect. The omnibus bill also included the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 and the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020. Congress intended both acts to assist intellectual property owners in registering and enforcing their rights, but the new provisions may also cause stakeholders to deal with additional administrative proceedings and shorter deadlines.
Highlights from the TM Act of 2020 (starting on page 1019) include:
Restoration of the rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm to support injunctive relief on proof of trademark infringement. Several circuits had called the presumption of irreparable harm into question following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the patent infringement case of
As the nation continues to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many took notice of the December 27, 2020, signing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, a bipartisan relief and.