Content Creators Urge Joe Biden To Boost Copyright Protections

[Anna Kushina (櫛名アンナ)]

More than 100 content creators are urging former Vice President Joe Biden to move on a series of measures to boost copyright protection and enforcement if he is elected president.

CreativeFuture, the industry group, sent a letter to Biden last week, urging him to pursue legislation that includes creating a small claims court for copyright holders, and another to create felony penalties for streaming piracy as they are for other forms of infringement.

“Of particular significance is that small businesses comprise a large portion of the creative economy – in film and television, 87% of our businesses have fewer than 10 employees,” the letter, signed by CreativeFuture CEO Ruth Vitale, stated. “Yet the pandemic has impacted the creative industries as much as, and in many cases even more than, other job-creating businesses. The pandemic has largely shuttered film and television production. It has closed live music venues, from stadiums to local clubs. It has halted book tours and forced stores that sell books, video games, and other creative industry products to close their doors.”

Biden was viewed as a champion of copyright protection when he was in the Senate and led the Senate Judiciary Committee. Early in his term as vice president, Biden convened an “intellectual property summit,” which included efforts to boost enforcement, but the Obama administration ultimately opposed a major piece of anti-piracy legislation in 2012. Biden continued to talk of the problems of IP theft, even if no major bill has advanced since then.

“With Senator Kamala Harris on your ticket, you have a governing partner who is deeply familiar with technology issues, and who has stood up at critical times to ensure that the platforms are more accountable (e.g., the passage of FOSTA/SESTA). This creates an important opportunity to get the creative and tech communities working more closely together to pursue the battle against digital piracy,” the letter stated.