Industry & Advocacy News
December 20, 2016
With a new President-Elect who has authored a number of books, many in the copyright industries are hopeful that the Trump administration will prove sympathetic to the interests of copyright holders. But that remains to be seen. So a number of rights-industry groups, as is the custom when a new President is elected, have been working to make sure the incoming administration is aware of both the importance of copyright to the United States economy and the threats faced by the creative sector in the digital age. This is especially crucial given the amount and importance of activity currently simmering in the copyright policy and legislative fields.
Letters were recently sent to Trump and his transition team by the Association of American Publishers and 19 music industry groups. The Copyright Alliance, an umbrella group whose membership includes the Authors Guild, plans to send its own letter to the Trump transition team in January.
The AAP’s letter underscored the book industry’s role in furthering public discourse and creating jobs, while pointing out the challenges posed by overseas piracy and ineffective remedies for copyright infringement. The organization also noted that books serve as engines for “convey[ing] the diverse aspects, textures and colors of American life in ways that promote understanding and goodwill for American values, laws and institutions.”
The music industry groups referred to the President-Elect’s December 14 meeting with corporate technology executives—including representatives from Amazon, Google, and Facebook—where Trump struck a conciliatory tone with companies that have been willfully ignorant of, if not openly hostile to, the interests of creators.
As promised in last month’s post “What the Trump Presidency Could Mean for Authors,” we’ll keep you posted as these issues—and Trump’s approach to them—develop.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Visualhunt / CC BY-SA
