AT ISSUE: Advocacy

Authors Alliance has its origin in a group of like-minded authors who believe that the most important thing their writing can do is advance learning, knowledge and the broader public interest. We advance the interests of these authors by sharing their views in policy settings, aiming to ensure that laws meant to advance knowledge don’t inadvertently stifle it instead.  In 2014, our first advocacy project, which our founding members created our organization to take on, was to file an amicus brief in the Google Books case, where we advocated for fair use as a safeguard for author’s rights.

Over the next decade, we remain the only independent organization dedicated solely to advocating for authors, staunchly free from any influence—or funding—from commercial publishers or technology companies. Our past work ranged from weighing in on ongoing litigation to impacting copyright reform and legislation. 

In 2025, our advocacy work thus far includes:

2024:

2023:
  • Contributed a brief in Hachette v. Internet Archive, the long-running fair use case about whether it is permissible for libraries to lend in digital formats books that they have acquired in print using a practice known as Controlled Digital Lending (CDL). Our brief explained why digital lending supports authors by broadening hte reach of their work and by opening up research resources to them to aid their writing. 
  • Contributed to a brief in Warner Chappell v. Nealy, a copyright case before the U.S. Supreme Court about how far back in time plaintiffs can recover damages from defendants. Our brief argued that copyright law should place limits on how far back damages can be assessed so authors are not subject to surprise damage awards for reusing works from others long in the past. 
  • Contributed amicus briefs in Jack Daniels v. VIP Products and Hermès International v. Rothschild, a pair of trademark cases that raised questions about when the First Amendment can serve as a defense in cases of parody. 
  • Joined with several other organizations on an amicus brief in NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice, a set of Supreme Court cases about state regulation of platform moderation choices on social media platforms.  Our brief argued that Authors use a wide variety of online platforms and rely heavily on content moderation to ensure that their views are not drowned out by spam, lies, or trolls.
  • Contributed comments to the Office of Management and Budget explaining why its proposed changes to grant regulations securing the right to distribute grant-funded research papers is welcomed by authors who support open access. 
  • Joined a broad coalition of public interest organizations, creators, academics, and others in a letter to members of Congress urging caution when considering proposals to revamp copyright law to address concerns about artificial intelligence
  • Contributed extensive comments in response to the US Copyright Office Notice of Inquiry on Copyright and AI. 
  • Spoke at a US Copyright Office listening session on AI and Copyright, contributing our thoughts on the importance of a balanced approach to AI and copyright that values both the interests of creators and the interests of researchers and the general public.

2022:
  • Contributed an amicus brief in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, a fair use case before the U.S. Supreme Court addressing the scope of “transformative use” and the extent to which artists and others can reuse and build upon works of other creators. Our brief argued for the rights of creators to build upon existing works. 
  • We filed comments with the Copyright Office supporting its proposed rule to protect authors’ rights to terminate and recapture their rights in musical works.
  • Contributed an amicus brief in ASTM v. Public.Resource.Org with several other civil society organizations. ASTM  addressed the extent to which copyright can restrict access and use of standards that have been incorporated into the law. Our brief argued that the law should not be subject to copyright restrictions. 
  • Joined with 20 other public interest organizations in opposing the passage of the Journalism Competition Preservation Act (JCPA) in its current form, whic, among other things, would force websites that link to news to negotiate with websites for payment. Free and open linking is a fundamental building block of the web and legislation like this could inhibit access to important news resources for authors.
  • We participated in a letter opposing the reach of a proposed treaty before the World Intellectual Property Organization that would create novel and expansive rights over broadcast copyrighted content. The proposed treaty would jeopardize the ability of archives to maintain copies of broadcast materials and limit the ability of researchers to access and use such materials in their work.
  • We wrote in support of proposed legislation in California (now passed) that would protect authors from having their creative work used as evidence against them. The bill–focused on addressing the discriminatory use of rap lyrics against defendants in criminal trials–provides broad protection to all creators and is similar to other pending legislation at the federal level and in New York. 
  • We submitted an amicus brief in Sicre de Fontbrune v. Wofsy, a case about whether foreign copyright judgments can be enforced in U.S. courts when a fair use defense would have applied to protect the use if the lawsuit had been brought in this country. Our brief argues that such judgments should not be enforced in U.S. courts since fair use is a crucial First Amendment limitation on copyright, central to our very system of government.
  • Signed on to an amicus brief in Vans v. MSCHF, a trademark case about First Amendment rights of creators and their rights to parody other brands. Our brief argues that First Amendment protections must be taken seriously in the context of expressive uses of trademarks, and asks the Second Circuit to clarify a framework for answering these questions in litigation. 
  • Joined an amicus brief in Henley v. Instagram, a case about whether Instagram (and platforms like it) can be held liable for secondary infringement based on its embedding feature, whereby websites employ code to display an Instagram post on their sites within their own content. The ability of authors to link and embed content has become an integral part of how authors communicate online, and so we filed a brief in support of allowing linking. 

2021:
  • Comments to South Africa’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry in support of copyright exceptions in the draft Copyright Amendment Bill
  • Joint letter to Congress on the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act
  • Response to post-hearing questions from the U.S. Copyright Office related to a new exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA to enable text and data mining research
  • Comments to the U.S. Copyright Office on regulations to govern the Copyright Claims Board
  • Joint letter to incoming United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai on promoting balanced copyright policy
  • Reply Comments to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of a new exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA to enable text and data mining research
  • Letter to Senator Tillis on the draft Digital Copyright Act of 2021

2020:
  • Comment to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of a new exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA to enable text and data mining research
  • Letter to Senator Tillis on DMCA Reform
  • Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the copyright small claims dispute provisions in the Online Content Policy Modernization Act
  • Petition to the U.S. Copyright Office for a new exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA to enable text and data mining research
  • Comment to the U.S. Copyright Office on modernizing recordation of notices of termination
  • Petition to renew renew multimedia e-book exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA
  • Reply Comment to the U.S. Copyright Office on the meaning of “publication” in the online context
  • Statement on Publisher lawsuit against the Internet Archive
  • Comment to the Office of Science and Technology Policy supporting immediate access to federally funded research
  • Public Input to the Librarian of Congress on the next Register of Copyrights
  • Comment to the U.S. Copyright Office on the meaning of “publication” in the online context

2019:
  • Statement in support of immediate access to federally funded research
  • Presentation to the World Intellectual Property (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR/39) supporting statutory termination rights and stronger reversionary rights in contracts
  • Statement to the World Intellectual Property (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR/39) on the benefits to authors of reasonable limitations and exceptions
  • Letter to the House Committee on the Judiciary on the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (“CASE Act”)
  • Statement on the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (“CASE Act”)
  • Comment to U.S. Copyright Office in support of registration modernization

2018:
  • Brief to Canada’s Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology urging the retention of reversionary rights in Canada’s Copyright Act and recommending amendments to the provision
  • Statement to the World Intellectual Property (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR/37) on how reasonable limitations and exceptions to copyright for education benefit authors
  • Endorsement of Position Statement on Controlled Digital Lending for Libraries
  • Comment to U.S. Copyright Office in support of a differentiated fee schedule to accommodate all authors
  • Comment to U.S. Copyright Office in support of mandatory deposit of electronic-only books
  • Joint letter to U.S. Copyright Office explaining why screen capture is not a sufficient alternative to circumvention
  • Statement to the World Intellectual Property (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR/36) on the benefits to authors of reasonable limitations and exceptions to copyright for libraries, archives, and museums; education; and for persons with disabilities
  • Letter to South Africa’s Members of Parliament in support of introducing a termination of transfer provision into South Africa’s copyright laws
  • Joint statement to Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees in support of the passage of the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act
  • Reply comment to U.S. Copyright Office in support of a modified exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA

2017:
  • Comment to U.S. Copyright Office in support of a modified exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA
  • Petition for a new, expanded multimedia e-book exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA
  • Joint letter to NAFTA negotiators in support of transparency and balanced copyright policy
  • Petition to renew multimedia e-book exemption to Section 1201 of the DMCA
  • Comment to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of modernizing recordation
  • Comment to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of creators’ rights to integrity and attribution
  • Amicus brief in Cambridge University Press v. Albert in support of fair use
  • Comment to the House Judiciary Committee on proposed reforms to the U.S. Copyright Office

2016:
  • Comment to U.S. Copyright Office in support of DMCA exemptions for print-disabled readers
  • Comment to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of reforming the DMCA exemption process

2015:
  • Comment to the U.S. Copyright Office urging reconsideration of extended collective licensing
  • Comment in support of DMCA exemption for multimedia e-books

2014:
  • Petition to the U.S. Copyright Office seeking DMCA exemption for multimedia e-books
  • Amicus brief in Authors Guild v. Google Books in support of fair use

If you have any questions, please feel free to email info@authorsalliance.org. 
If you like our advocacy work, please consider making a donation or joining as a member.