Letter to Connecticut Legislature Re: Bills Restricting Author Rights and Earnings

We are requesting the help of Connecticut members in pushing back against state bills which, if enacted, would prejudice authors’ rights under federal copyright law and disrupt the publishing ecosystem.

Senate Bill No. 148 and House Bill No. 5312 encroach on copyright by making certain licensing terms in contracts publishers and authors make with state libraries illegal. This would impact authors’ earnings from library licenses. Under constitutionally-guaranteed federal copyright law, authors and their licensees have the exclusive authority to license their works to whom they choose on the terms they choose, and federal courts have held similar bills unconstitutional.

We have drafted a letter addressed to leaders of the Connecticut General Assembly cautioning them against pursuing this misguided approach towards the otherwise laudable goal of ensuring state libraries are able to maintain a robust collection of digital materials. We strongly support efforts to make ebooks, audiobooks, and other digital materials available to libraries, but object to legislation that will cut into authors’ incomes, particularly at a time when earnings are at historical lows.

We encourage you to take a few minutes to read our letter and sign on to it using the form below.

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