CCIA supports robust and balanced copyright policy. While copyright protection promotes creativity by rewarding authors, musicians, and developers, over-regulation can discourage innovation and threaten competition. Copyrights must be enforced to ensure that creators of all kinds are incentivized to bring creative works to market. At the same time, copyright must remain flexible so as not to impede new technological innovation. Principles such as fair use and protections for online intermediaries under Section 512 of the DMCA ensure that copyright regulations and technological advances can coexist.
CCIA’s View:
Modernizing copyright law can facilitate innovation and the growth of the Internet economy. U.S. copyright law can be reformed to ensure more rational damages by harmonizing our copyright system with other areas of the law, where damages are proportional to the injury sustained. Copyright reform can ensure the law does not impose unreasonable barriers to licensing by new industries in favor of legacy industries.
U.S. policymakers must also ensure that the policy norms which we export in our international and trade policy reflect these goals to ensure that as U.S. businesses enter markets abroad they are not subjected to liability for products, services, and content that are lawful in the United States.