The Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet of the House Judiciary Committee has announced two upcoming hearings on copyright, to continue the “House Judiciary Committee’s ongoing review of U.S. copyright law.” The first will be on Thursday, July 25, entitled “Innovation in America: The Role of Copyrights.” The date of the second has not been announced yet, but the announcement says it will also be held before the upcoming August recess.
Chairman Goodlatte and Subcommittee Chairman Coble also released a statement announcing the hearing, which suggests that the second hearing will be on technology, to complement the first hearing on copyright: “The copyright and technology sectors are core parts of our nation’s economy. They are the job-creating engine that can help rebuild our economy. Over the next several weeks, the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee will hold two hearings that will focus on the important role that both the copyright and technology industries play in our nation. We look forward to hearing from all of the witnesses.”
There have already been two hearings on copyright during the 113th Congress: March 20’s “The Register’s Call for Updates to U.S. Copyright Law” with the Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante, and May 16’s “A Case Study for Consensus Building: The Copyright Principles Project” with several law professors, a former General Counsel of the Copyright Office, and an Assistant General Counsel from Microsoft.