It’s copyright week! This week, Authors Alliance is joining a group of organizations in reflecting on some of the principles that help make copyright law an engine of creativity.

Copyright law has many stakeholders, including creators of all kinds and the consumers of their works. Traditionally, however, only a narrow band of copyright’s constituents have had real representation in setting copyright policy, which has typically put the interests of certain classes of commercial creators and industries first. From the start, Authors Alliance has worked to bring the voices of creators who wish to share their work broadly to these important debates.

Today, the United States is at a critical inflection point in how it makes copyright policy and whose interests are considered in the process, with a new Librarian of Congress currently working to appoint a new Register of Copyrights (the highest ranking official at the United States Copyright Office and the U.S. government’s leading copyright expert).

In fact, the resignation of Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante last fall brought about renewed scrutiny of the entire U.S. Copyright Office, as well as calls for reform—notably from Rep. Goodlatte and the House Judiciary Committee in December.  Key points under consideration are the Office’s relationship to the Library of Congress, its organizational structure, and the pressing need for modernization and technological upgrades.

The Library of Congress is currently seeking input from the public on the qualifications and priorities for a new Register of Copyrights. The Copyright Office is tasked with serving a diverse constituency whose values and goals are often at odds with one another. The leadership transitions at LOC and the Copyright Office have created a significant opportunity to see a copyright office that is both more effective at its core functions (most especially, registering copyrights and copyright transfers), and more cognizant of the diversity of interests in our copyright system. The debates are real, and the consequences far-reaching. Now is the time for those of us who support openness, a broad view of fair use, and protections for individual creators, to advocate for our values.

Authors Alliance is closely following these developments at the Copyright Office in the coming year, and is committed to continuing seeing our members’ interests represented in these kinds of venues. We encourage all of our members and allies to take the LOC’s survey by the January 31 deadline to ensure that we—as authors and creators whose work is both helped and hindered by copyright policy—have a voice in the ongoing debates on copyright reform.