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Americans for Tax Reform and Digital Liberty submitted comments supporting the House Judiciary Committee’s effort to bring the Copyright Office into the 21st Century.

The expresses general support for the Judiciary Committee’s policy statement that called for separating the Copyright Office from the Library of Congress, remaining part of the Legislative Branch and a Register nominated by the President and appointed with Congressional consent.

Digital Liberty stands with the House Judiciary Committee to support this vital reform that will improve the legal processes behind the US Copyright industry.

The implementation of the above reforms will give the Copyright Office a legal framework to catch up with the digital economy.

Copyright industries in the United States outpace overall economic growth by 70% and employ 5.5 million people, yet copyright registration can take 12 – 18 months causing hundreds of thousands of pending requests and delayed digital growth.

With an outdated legal structure, the Electronic Office Registration System (eCO) has done little to improve the efficiency of registration requests. As a separate entity with a nominated and confirmed Register, the Copyright Office is under greater discretion to manage its budget, update its IT structure and transition to automated digital records and registration.

Digital Liberty stands with the House Judiciary Committee to support this vital reform that will improve the legal processes behind the US Copyright industry.