MUSIC PUBS ORG: KNOCK OUT ALI

Verbal fisticuffs are being thrown over the Copyright Restatement Project from the American Law Institute (ALI). The National Music Publishers’ Association delivered the first roundhouse.

NMPA President/CEO David Israelite said, “The American Law Institute’s so-called ‘Restatement of Copyright Law’ was written by extremist anti-copyright lawyers in an attempt to redefine Copyright Law. The Restatement has been slammed by the U.S. Copyright Office, the American Bar Association, the US Patent and Trademark Office, and most importantly, the creators themselves.

“We have written the ALI Council to implore them to vote ‘no’ on approving the Restatement draft as we hope they will reject this sham attempt to undermine hard-fought principles of understood law. This thinly veiled attempt to subvert the law and undermine creators must be stopped.”

The Restatement attempts to reinterpret established Copyright Law in a manner that harms creators and walks back the recent movement to better serve them and their interests. The Council could vote on the project as soon as Thursday.

In the letter, the NMPA wrote, "In recent years copyright law for music has faced repeated tests and challenges, including for those who legislate and interpret the law, in large part due to the transformation of the music industry from physical to digital. … Attempting to 'restate' copyright law for music now is a difficult, if not an odd, exercise.

"Ensuring there is a neutral, accurate explanation of the law will help judges, clerks, attorneys, and academics, as well as those owning and using musical works and sound recordings, to better understand the rights, restrictions and limitations that implicate creation and use of those works. If that is not possible, this project should be abandoned."

NMPA wrote the letter with the RIAA.