A head of steam grows for passage of copyright-related legislation before the current session of Congress ends
Catching up with PW's Andrew Albanese
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Who says Congress never gets anything done?
On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Senate ratified the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled and passed the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559) without opposition. Then, in late September, the Senate unanimously passed the Music Modernization Act.
Those actions may have helped build a head of steam for further legislative developments before the current session of Congress ends, reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.
Ten days ago, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration heard arguments for and against the “Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act.” Primarily, the proposal would shift responsibility for nominating the U.S. Register of Copyrights from the House to the President, Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.
“After the midterm elections, we will have a lot of new members of Congress. When this session does gavel out, all the bills not signed into law are done. And I think that is especially important when it comes to copyright,” Albanese says. “House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), who is retiring, oversaw a series of hearings on copyright reform. He is just a few months from seeing that go away without a point on the board.”
Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
