Copyright Compliance in 2009: What's New; What's on the Horizon

February 2009

It seems that everywhere you look people are talking about copyright. The Associated Press recently claimed street-artist Shepard Fairey infringed upon a 2006 photo of Barack Obama when he created his iconic "Hope" image. Fairey and his lawyers cite the doctrine of Fair Use.

For public relations and marketing professionals - who need full access to and distribution of their relevant coverage - cases such as this are a clear reminder of the challenges of compliance.

While BurrellesLuce isn't offering legal advice, we do provide updates on what's new in the copyright arena.

What is copyright law?

Original creative works are protecting under Copyright law. According to this law (Title 17 of the U.S. code), works include:

Literary works, including articles from newspapers and magazines
Songs, including words and music
Plays and choreographed performances, with accompanying music
Art, including pictorial, graphic, and sculptured works
Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Sound recordings
Architectural works

Copyright: recent legal developments

At a recent PRSA Conference, Steve Shannon, executive vice president BurrellesLuce, with the input of Ralph Oman, Former Registrar of Copyrights of the United States and current faculty member at The George Washington University Law School, outlined additional new copyright legislation of interest to PR professionals.

What's New

The Orphan Works Reform Act - This reform will be up for review by the 111th. This bill if passed would allow historians, museums, educational institutions and some other users to use copyrighted works by authors who cannot be found.
The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act passed in October 2008. The act increases coordination between government agencies. An IP Czar with Cabinet status over sees international and domestic enforcement efforts.
The Design Piracy Prohibition Act - still pending, this act would protect designs in high fashion and accessories. The U.S. does not currently protect fashion designers from those who copy their designs or products.

What's on the Horizon

Performance Rights Act - if passed, this act would mandate that radio and television stations pay a royalty to the artist for the public performance of their sound recordings. If enacted, this could cost the stations hundreds of millions of dollars and affect their advertising rates.
Sanctioned activities of broadcast monitors - under a 1991 agreement between broadcasters and monitors, services can track broadcasts without paying royalties or acquiring individual licenses. This may soon change.