Monday, April 27, 2015

Copyright Office Seeks Comments on Protecting IP Rights relating to Visual Images

On Arpil 24, 2015, the U.S. Copyright Office published in the Federal Register (80 FR 23054) Notice of Inquiry relating to Copyright Protection for Certain Visual Works.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is reviewing how certain visual works, particularly photographs, graphic artworks, and illustrations, are monetized, enforced, and registered under the Copyright Act. The Office seeks commentary on the current marketplace for these visual works, as well as observations regarding the real or potential obstacles that authors, and, as applicable, their licensees or other representatives face when navigating the digital landscape. This work builds upon previous studies and public inquiries in a number of areas, including small claims, the making available right, resale royalties, registration, recordation, and the interoperability of records. As always, the Office is interested in the perspectives of copyright owners as well as users of these creative works. This is a general inquiry that will likely lead to additional specific inquiries.

DATES: Comments are due July 23, 2015. Reply comments are due August 24, 2015.

According to the notice--

"The significant enforcement challenges also pose substantial difficulties. For example, '[p]urloining of [photographs], whether produced for use by multi-national corporations for advertising purposes, use on APPAREL, product packaging or reportage, has become routine.'"

If you have an interest in this intellectual property ("IP") topic and care to submit comments to the Copyright Office, Agathon Associates can assist in drafting comments for maximum effectiveness.

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