News

Bipartisan Legislation Would Empower the Librarian of Congress to Designate Widely Used Technical Measures to Address Online Infringement and Create New Incentives for Further Use

Washington, DC (March 18, 2022) – Today, Senate Judiciary Intellectual Property Leaders Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced bipartisan legislation encouraging the development and adoption of effective, widely available tools to combat online piracy.

The SMART Copyright Act of 2022 authorizes the Librarian of Congress to conduct transparent, public proceedings to identify and designate already widely used “technical measures” and creates incentives for their further use while assuring reasonable costs and implementation.

RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier and NMPA President & CEO David Israelite released the following statements in support of the bipartisan measure:

Mitch Glazier, Chairman & CEO, RIAA – 

“By encouraging cooperation between platforms and rightsholders, the SMART Copyright Act will incentivize the development and adoption of effective tools to address online piracy while giving platforms clarity. This thoughtful proposal builds off nearly a quarter century of real-world experience under the DMCA and promises a big step toward balancing the interests of creators and tech companies in today’s integrated commercial marketplace.  Congress intended that creators and platforms work together to protect copyright and consumers and this proposal achieves that goal.

“We applaud Senators Leahy and Tillis for once again doing the work to forge creative, bipartisan solutions that move copyright law forward and strengthen the digital creative ecosystem for everyone.”

David Israelite, President & CEO, NMPA – 

“The DMCA for years has left songwriters and music publishers with few avenues to protect their work online. We applaud Senators Tillis and Leahy for their leadership to strengthen technical measures to hold giant tech platforms more accountable. This is a great first step towards fighting online piracy which continues to be a major threat to the livelihood of our creative community.”

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RIAA Contact: Liz Kennedy (LKennedy@riaa.com)

NMPA Contact: Charlotte Sellmyer  (csellmyer@nmpa.org)

About RIAA:
The Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA) is the trade organization that supports and promotes the creative and commercial vitality of music labels in the United States, the most vibrant recorded music community in the world.  Our membership – which includes several hundred companies, ranging from small-to-medium-sized enterprises to global businesses – creates, manufactures and/or distributes sound recordings.  In support of its mission, the RIAA works to protect the intellectual property and First Amendment rights of artists and music labels; conducts consumer, industry, and technical research; and monitors and reviews state and federal laws, regulations, and policies. For more information please go to: www.RIAA.com.

About NMPA:
Founded in 1917, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) is the trade association representing all American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The NMPA’s mandate is to protect and advance the interests of music publishers and songwriters in matters relating to the domestic and global protection of music copyrights. Learn more at nmpa.org.