The Register of Copyrights Selection & Accountability Act, H.R. 1695 Passed by the House of Representatives

The Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act, H.R. 1695, was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 378-48 on April 26^th, which would now make the Head of the Copyright Office a Presidential appointee.   This bill will also give the Copyright Office more autonomy over its budget and its technology as well as its operational procedures (staffing, fees, structure, etc.).  DMLA, as a member of the Coalition of Visual Artists, has been supporting this measure as part of our legislative priorities.  Read here.   The bill now moves onto the Senate for a vote.“The passage of H.R. bill shows that the House of Representatives sees the importance of moving the Copyright Office into the 21^st century” says Cathy Aron, Executive Director of DMLA. “It’s time to give the Copyright Office what it needs to serve the creative industries of our nation effectively.  This is a great first step.  We look to the Senate to support the bill in an equally bipartisan way”The importance of Copyright Office reform has been a major focus of our DMLA’s legal outreach over the last few years through our written comments to the Copyright Office and our lobbying efforts through the Coalition.