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Citation[]

Computer & Communications Industry Association, Copyright Reform For a Digital Economy (2015) (full-text).

Overview[]

Copyright exists to incentivize authorship with the prospect of economic reward. The Constitution permits Congress to grant authors "the exclusive Right to their respective Writings" as a means to an end: "promot[ing] the Progress of Science and useful Arts." Thus, while the immediate beneficiary of copyright is the author, U.S. copyright law ultimately aims to promote the public good. Copyright is therefore a distinctly utilitarian system; its regulations grant temporary monopoly privileges in order to turn private motivation into public benefit. As a result, copyright law must always be balanced in favor of the public interest, and it should be recognized as just one of various mechanisms that promote creativity and innovation. New technology and new means of communications can do the same.

New technology and online access to a worldwide audience has enabled everyone to become content creators with a potentially limitless audience; this new reality has simultaneously created vast new industries, demolished barriers to entry in existing ones, and dramatically disrupted other industries. As technological innovations rapidly reduce the cost of content creation, distribution, and discovery, business models and enforcement strategies must remain dynamic in order to keep pace with change. In this environment, new business practices may be as effective as new public policy at bringing about meaningful change.

While copyright legislation may address numerous subjects, any reform should include two important principles: (1) accommodating new technology innovation and commerce so as not to make every licensee or consumer a [[copyright infringer; and (2) providing certainty to businesses that are not the "content industry" but are nevertheless substantially affected by the Copyright Act.

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