Formation | May 17, 2007 |
---|---|
Type | 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization |
Purpose | copyright education and advocacy |
Location |
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CEO | Keith Kupferschmid |
Website | copyrightalliance.org |
The Copyright Alliance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(4) organization representing artistic creators across a broad range of copyright disciplines. [1]
The Copyright Alliance's institutional members include more than sixty trade organizations, associations, unions, companies, and guilds, that represent millions of individual creators. The Copyright Alliance also directly collaborates with and represents more than twenty three thousand creative individuals and small businesses. The creative industries represented include writers, composers, recording artists, journalists, documentarians, filmmakers, graphic artists, visual artists, photographers, authors, software developers, and numerous other genres. [2]
At its launch in May 2007, the Copyright Alliance was founded by four Board members, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., the Motion Picture Association of America (now called Motion Picture Association), and Universal. It was initially created and masterminded by President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association Jack Valenti. Music artists Steve Cropper and Lamont Dozier attended the launch, which included a membership of 29 organizations that represented 11 million creative workers, including the Association of American Publishers, Microsoft, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Viacom, and Disney. [3]
The launch of the Copyright Alliance was supported by U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Representative Howard Coble (R-NC), Representative Howard Berman (D-CA), and members of the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. In speaking of being inspired by the late Jack Valenti, Representative Berman noted that "the constant assaults on copyright law" resulted in the Copyright Alliance’s origin, and he called the organization’s launch "a tremendous idea.” [3]
The Copyright Alliance was launched in opposition to the Digital Freedom Campaign, formed the previous October, whose members include the Consumer Electronics Association, Public Knowledge, and the Electronic Freedom Foundation. [3]
Patrick Ross served as executive director of the Copyright Alliance for four years until he was succeeded by Sandra Aistars on December 20, 2010. Prior to taking the position, Aistars was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Time Warner. On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Keith Kupferschmid would succeed Sandra Aistars as CEO of the Copyright Alliance. Kupferschmid previously served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Intellectual Property at the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). [4] [5]
As of March 2022, the Copyright Alliance lists 60 organizations as organization members. [2]
Apparel
In 2009, the organization presented a letter to the White House asking it to pursue policies supportive of artists' rights signed by 11,000 artists and creators. [6] Over the years, the Copyright Alliance has collaborated with various groups. In 2014, it helped the US Copyright Office present its 2014 World IP Day program [7] That same year, it also hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill with the Creative Rights Caucus to "discuss the challenges photographers and visual artists face in the internet age." [8] The organization also has worked with groups such as Google, Yahoo, and Public Knowledge to develop voluntary best practices for addressing online copyright infringement. [9]
The Copyright Alliance filed briefs in Allen v. Cooper , which was decided in 2020: the Supreme Court of the United States abrogated the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act as unconstitutional, the Copyright Alliance had argued the opposite view.
The group supported an IP-PRO bill establishing a "copyright czar" in June 2008 Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. [10] The PRO-IP bill was introduced in the Senate shortly thereafter and passed into law. [11] Ars Technica called the bill a victory for "Big Content," though a provision for the Department of Justice to join suits for the benefit of copyright holders was stripped from the bill. [12]
On November 16, 2009, the Copyright Alliance was joined by some of its independent creator members in hand-delivering a letter to the White House signed by more than 11,000 artists and creators, calling on President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden to defend the rights of artists and creators.[ citation needed ]
In May 2009, it launched the Creators Across America campaign, which includes videos of artists and creators across the United States speaking about their arts and their rights under copyright law.[ citation needed ]
The Copyright Alliance received $600,000 from the Motion Picture Association in 2012, which that year had also donated $475,000 to the Center for Copyright Information and $100,000 each to the Democratic Governors Association and Republican Governors Association as part of an anti-piracy campaign. [13]
The Copyright Alliance also supports the Music Modernization Act (MMA), which was entered into law in 2018; and the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (the CASE Act).
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives the creator of an original work, or another owner of the right, the exclusive, legally secured right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States.
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. The modern concept of intellectual property developed in England in the 17th and 18th centuries. The term "intellectual property" began to be used in the 19th century, though it was not until the late 20th century that intellectual property became commonplace in most of the world's legal systems.
A work made for hire, in copyright law in the United States, is a work that is subject to copyright and is created by employees as part of their job or some limited types of works for which all parties agree in writing to the WFH designation. Work for hire is a statutorily defined term and so a work for hire is not created merely because parties to an agreement state that the work is a work for hire. It is an exception to the general rule that the person who actually creates a work is the legally-recognized author of that work. In the United States and certain other copyright jurisdictions, if a work is "made for hire," the employer, not the employee, is considered the legal author. In some countries, this is known as corporate authorship. The entity serving as an employer may be a corporation or other legal entity, an organization, or an individual.
A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or a fixed price per unit sold of an item of such, but there are also other modes and metrics of compensation. A royalty interest is the right to collect a stream of future royalty payments.
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association participates in public relations activities such as advertising, education, publishing, lobbying, and political donations, but its focus is collaboration between companies. Associations may offer other services, such as producing conferences, setting industry standards, holding networking or charitable events, or offering classes or educational materials. Many associations are non-profit organizations governed by bylaws and directed by officers who are also members.. Many associations are non-profit organizations governed by bylaws and directed by officers who are also members..
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) is a coalition of seven trade associations representing American companies that produce copyright-protected material, including computer software, films, television programs, music, books, and journals. Formed in 1984, it seeks to strengthen international copyright protection and enforcement by working with the U.S. government, foreign governments, and private-sector representatives.
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in Australia and New Zealand. The two organisations work together to license public performances and administer performance, communication and reproduction rights on behalf of their members, who are creators of musical works, aiming to ensure fair payments to members and to defend their rights under the Australian Copyright Act (1968).
Founded in 2001, the Stock Artists Alliance was an international trade association of photographers who produce images for stock photography. The mission of SAA was to support and protect the business interests of professional stock photographers with regard to the worldwide distribution of their intellectual property.
The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers is an international non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation that aims to protect the rights and promote the interests of creators worldwide. It advocates for strong legal protection of copyright and authors' rights. It is the world's largest international network of authors' societies, also known as Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), copyright / royalty collection societies, collecting societies, or Performing Rights Organisations (PROs).
The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 is a United States law that increases both civil and criminal penalties for trademark, patent and copyright infringement. The law also establishes a new executive branch office, the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER).
The copyright law of Australia defines the legally enforceable rights of creators of creative and artistic works under Australian law. The scope of copyright in Australia is defined in the Copyright Act 1968, which applies the national law throughout Australia. Designs may be covered by the Copyright Act as well as by the Design Act. Since 2007, performers have moral rights in recordings of their work.
The philosophy of copyright considers philosophical issues linked to copyright policy, and other jurisprudential problems that arise in legal systems' interpretation and application of copyright law.
Copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works. The copyright holder is typically the work's creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement.
China International Copyright Expo is an annual event that brings companies and organizations, both governmental and independent, to China to discuss various aspects of copyright and intellectual property rights (IPR). The Expo was first held in 2008 and was attended by experts and organizations from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and many more. The Expo "actively builds an international copyright trade platform, which is focused on industry exchange and trade, this expo consists of four parts; International Copyright Forum, Industrial Exhibition, Thematic Activities, and Cultural Performance Activities."
The Graphic Artists Guild is a guild of graphic designers, illustrators, and photographers and is organized into seven chapters around the United States. It is a member of the international organization Icograda.
The Intellectual Property Enforcement Act of 2007, or S.2317, was a bill proposed in the 110th session of the United States Congress that would strengthen intellectual property laws in the United States by amending titles 17 and 18 of United States Code as well as the Trademark Act of 1946. It was written by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and co-sponsored by John Cornyn (R-TX) and Arlen Specter (D-PA). Primarily, the bill would allow the Department of Justice to press civil charges against file-sharers and award restitution to the copyright owner. This is the third time similar legislation has gone through the United States Senate without passing.
The PROTECT IP Act was a proposed law with the stated goal of giving the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to "rogue websites dedicated to the sale of infringing or counterfeit goods", especially those registered outside the U.S. The bill was introduced on May 12, 2011, by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and 11 bipartisan co-sponsors. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that implementation of the bill would cost the federal government $47 million through 2016, to cover enforcement costs and the hiring and training of 22 new special agents and 26 support staff. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill, but Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) placed a hold on it.
Copyright law of Indonesia is set out in the Copyright Act, namely, current, Act No. 28 of 2014. In law, the notion of copyright is "the exclusive rights for the creator or the recipient the right to publish or reproduce the creations or give permission for it by not reducing the restrictions according to the laws and regulations that apply".