Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-GA) sent a letter to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressing their concerns regarding the use of language mirroring Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in trade agreements.

“The effects of Section 512 and the appropriate role of a copyright safe harbor have become the subject of much attention in recent years.   Some have called on Congress to update these very provisions, enacted in the days of a dial-up Internet.   The U.S. Copyright Office is expected to produce a report on Section 512 around the end of this year, the result of a multi-year process that started in 2015,” Nadler and Collins wrote to Lighthizer.  “Without taking a position on that debate in this letter, we find it problematic for the United States to export language mirroring this provision while such serious policy discussions are ongoing.”  Nadler and Collins continued, “Given that the Judiciary Committee closely oversees Section 512 through its jurisdiction over intellectual property laws, we also hope that the Office of the United States Trade Representative will work closely with our Committee in advance of negotiating copyright issues going forward.” 

To read the full text of the letter, click here.