IPTF Plans April 18 Meeting on Informing Consumers on Copyright Issues in Online Transactions

The Department of Commerce's Internet Policy Task Force plans a public meeting April 18 on ways “to communicate to consumers regarding license terms and restrictions in connection with online transactions involving copyrighted works,” said the Patent and Trademark Office in a notice to appear in Tuesday's Federal Register. The meeting will be a follow-up on the IPTF's 2016 white paper that opposed using legislation to address digital transmissions’ place in the existing first-sale doctrine (see 1601280065). IPTF recommended creating a “multistakeholder process to establish best practices to improve consumers’ understanding of license terms and restrictions in connection with online transactions involving creative works,” PTO said in the Federal Register. The paper said “consumers would benefit from more information on the nature of these transactions, including whether they are paying for temporary access to content or for ownership of a copy, in order to instill greater confidence and enhance participation in the online marketplace.” The April 18 meeting will focus on creating voluntary best practices and other nonlegislative solutions, including identifying “best practices for how to inform consumers about the intellectual property rights associated with the content they are accessing or acquiring, and what activities they are permitted to engage in without implicating those rights,” PTO said. IPTF is particularly interested in the perspectives of “particular online services that offer digital transmissions of works to consumers, as well as creators, right holders, consumers, marketing professionals, user interface designers, public interest groups, and academics.” The meeting is set for 1-5 p.m. at the Global Intellectual Property Academy in PTO's Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters.