Patent and Trademark Office veteran Shira Perlmutter will be register of copyrights and Copyright Office director, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Monday. Perlmutter will take over in late October as the 14th register. She vacates her role as PTO chief policy officer and international affairs director, positions she had since 2012. Perlmutter “brings to this role a deep knowledge of domestic and international copyright law and policy and a background in negotiating international intellectual property agreements,” Hayden said. “She has experience working with a wide range of stakeholders and finding common ground on complex issues.” The Senate won’t have to confirm Perlmutter. Senate and House Judiciary Committee leaders in 2017 considered making the register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term, but momentum slowed (see 1706090050). Maria Strong was acting register. At PTO, Perlmutter oversaw domestic and international IP policy and legislative engagement through the Office of Government Affairs. She was CO associate register-policy and international affairs in 1995. She previously was associate general counsel for IP policy at Time Warner and World Intellectual Property Organization copyright consultant. Perlmutter looks forward to “rejoining the dedicated staff of the Copyright Office on its mission of promoting the creation and dissemination of works of authorship.” NAB, Public Knowledge, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Digital Media Association, RIAA, Motion Picture Alliance and Copyright Alliance welcomed the news. “The Copyright Office will now have new leadership at a time when updating its operations is more important than ever,” CCIA President Matt Schruers said. Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid described Perlmutter as a “proven leader and a beacon of knowledge and integrity within the intellectual property community for decades and will serve all stakeholders and users of the Copyright Office services well.” Perlmutter “consistently worked to promote understanding and progress in copyright law and has established herself as a preeminent authority,” said RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier. PK looks forward to working with Perlmutter to “protect and advance the rights of everyday users, fans, and consumers online,” said Senior Policy Counsel Meredith Rose.
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
The FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division are looking at possible changes to Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act implementation, FTC said Monday, announcing an NPRM and Advance NPRM to be published in the Federal Register. It said the NPRM suggests proposed transaction filers disclose more information about their associates and exempting the acquisition of 10% or less of an issuer's voting securities. The ANPRM seeks information on such topics as the size of the transaction and routes for avoiding the HSR Act requirements. The FTC said the vote to publish the ANPRM was 5-0. The NPRM vote was 3-2, with Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter dissenting. Chopra said the exemptions provisions are concerning because the FTC "will completely lose visibility into a large set of transactions involving non-controlling stakes." Slaughter said the expanded de minimis exemption is a "broadening of the black box of unseen transactions," and the proposed changes could have unforeseen effects on corporate governance. DOJ antitrust chief Makan Delrahim said he backs creating an exemption for certain de minimis investments of 10% or less "to address the regulatory burdens of an overbroad HSR requirement for certain minority investments that do not raise competition concerns.” DOJ said the agency was particularly interested in feedback on the NPRM on removing the director/officer and vendor/vendee carve-outs.
Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat will be banned from U.S. app stores starting Sunday, the Commerce Department announced Friday, citing national security concerns (see 2008240047). “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the U.S.”
The FCC has power to regulate social media, and the First Amendment supports the Trump administration’s petition for rulemaking, NTIA replied Friday (see 2009020064). The commission can require disclosure of information services under the Communications Act, and courts have ruled “search engines, browsers and internet social media precursors such as chat rooms are information services,” wrote acting Director Adam Candeub. He asked to grant its petition for Communications Decency Act Section 230 rulemaking.
The U.S. should recruit global talent to ensure it keeps its advantage with artificial intelligence technology, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) Chairman Eric Schmidt told the House Intelligence and Emerging Threats Subcommittee on Thursday. Chairman James Langevin, D-R.I., questioned whether limitations on foreigners studying in the U.S. plays into China’s hands, since workforce talent determines a country’s AI development. Many Chinese graduate students are responsible or partly responsible for the top academic papers on AI, Schmidt said. He recommended recruiting top talent from all countries and working to keep them in the U.S., producing research and helping create defense companies: “I’d much rather have them creating successes in America.” Responding to Langevin about AI investment, Schmidt said the U.S. isn’t overinvested in anything AI-related but underinvested in underlying infrastructure. NSCAI Commissioner Mignon Clyburn noted the commission’s first-quarter recommendations are filled with opportunities for the federal government to embrace AI as a “way of life, a way of your job” and a national strategic priority. Rep. Elisa Slotkin, D-Mich., asked about a structural change to ensure these recommendations and innovation are incorporated. NSCAI Vice Chairman Robert Work noted the commission recommended a technological steering group with intelligence and defense officials to examine how to integrate technology for the military’s advantage. Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., drew attention to the report’s recognition that AI needs to account for racial diversity, citing his concerns about bias. AI algorithms need to be built by design to avoid racial bias issues, said NSCAI Commissioner Jose-Marie Griffiths. She recommended R&D for algorithm development.
Trademark modernization takes legislative priority over efforts to update the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told us Wednesday before a hearing on the DMCA. The Trademark Modernization Act recently passed the House Judiciary Committee unanimously. Getting that bill enacted into law this Congress is one of Tillis' “top priorities,” his office said. “We’ll be working with them to make sure that whatever we lay down has got consensus,” the lead Senate sponsor said.
Google has unprecedented control over the digital advertising market, which threatens news publishers and gives the platform unrivaled leverage, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans and Democrats said at an Antitrust Subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
Congress should be cautious about creating new antitrust regulations, FTC Chairman Joe Simons and DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim said Monday. “Some are proposing regulatory solutions designed to curb or change the way” tech companies compete, Simons told a virtual International Competition Network conference. “I would advise strong caution before adopting any type of a regulatory regime rather than relying on a competition regime.”
Groups are scrambling to get the Music Modernization Act’s music licensing collective ready to issue licenses by January (see 2004220055). The timeline between the MMA’s October 2018 passage and January is tight, Mechanical Licensing Collective Board Member Danielle Aguirre told a George Mason University panel Wednesday. Validating copyright ownership data has been a big push for the MLC over the past six months, she said: Copyright owners are being asked to take a more active role in “identifying their works,” cleaning up data and working with the MLC to make sure it’s correct. The MLC will be better if songwriters do their part to get the data correct, said Songwriters of North America founding member Adam Gorgoni. He noted if there’s a conflict and copyright owners participate in sorting out those differences, “theoretically, everyone will get paid what they deserve, and that’s our goal.” SONA will continue its due diligence to ensure songwriters are “treated fairly” and when there are disagreements, “we’re going to fight,” he said. Spotify Global Head-Publisher Operations Lisa Selden noted time's tight. The biggest challenge is getting the final regulations from the Copyright Office, testing the work with the MLC and having it ready for licensing, she said. CO General Counsel Regan Smith welcomed comments in ongoing proceedings regarding the MMA, noting the proposed rule on transparency and additional disclosure.
Legislation discouraging social media fact-checking and First Amendment rights is the wrong approach, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks Wednesday. They discussed Republican proposals on Communications Decency Act Section 230.