CO Seeks Comment on Moral Rights Study

The Copyright Office is initiating a study on how existing U.S. law protects the moral rights of attribution and integrity, it said Monday. The CO had been expected to initiate a formal analysis of the moral rights issue after it held a symposium on the topic last year. House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., also sought the study (see 1604180069). Stakeholders said then that a formal analysis of moral rights probably won’t lead to the CO changing its position on how U.S. law should deal with moral rights to satisfy the requirements of the Berne Convention (see 1604150074). The moral rights study will examine whether changes in U.S. law are needed to protect moral rights, the CO said in Monday's Federal Register. The House and Senate Judiciary committees previously accepted that moral rights are protected under the Lanham Act and other statutes. The CO sought feedback on how effective those existing laws are in protecting moral rights and whether updates to those laws are needed. The CO sought feedback on how “stronger protections” for either the right of attribution or the right of integrity would affect the First Amendment. The office also sought input on possible exceptions to an explicit moral rights statute, and possible voluntary actions to strengthen moral rights protections. Comments are due March 9, replies April 24.