The News/Media Alliance commends the U.S. Copyright Office for
today adopting the rule on group registration of updates to news
websites. The rule allows publishers to submit copies of their
homepages as identifying material to evaluate for registration on a
monthly basis. Previously, publishers lacked a feasible way to
protect their online properties.
ARLINGTON, Va., July 22,
2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The News/Media Alliance
commends the U.S. Copyright Office for today adopting the rule on
group registration of updates to news websites. The rule,
originally proposed in January, allows publishers to submit copies
of their homepages as identifying material to evaluate for
registration on a monthly basis. Previously, publishers lacked a
feasible way to protect their online properties as registration
would have required the submission of complete copies of publisher
websites for each day.
"This is a significant development that
allows publishers to effectively protect and fight against the
systemic misappropriation of their content online. This option has
been a long time coming and we applaud the Copyright Office for
taking this important step forward."
News/Media Alliance President and CEO Danielle Coffey said, "This is a significant
development that allows publishers to effectively protect and fight
against the systemic misappropriation of their content online. This
option has been a long time coming and we applaud the Copyright
Office for taking this important step forward."
Timely registration of copyrights is vital for publishers as
without it, rightsholders are not entitled to statutory damages and
attorney's fees. Due to the high cost of litigating copyright cases
in federal courts, these damages are necessary to make the
enforcement of copyrights viable for publishers. Before today,
publishers lacked the ability to reasonably access the full
benefits of the copyright system.
The new rule applies to news websites and will become effective
immediately. The rule is based on the same application as the
pre-existing group registration option for newspapers – which the
Alliance played an important role in developing prior to its
adoption in 2018 – including the registration fee.
Coffey continued, "Dominant technology companies and artificial
intelligence developers, along with other websites and aggregators,
systemically take and use publisher content, far too often without
authorization or compensation. Efficient and meaningful copyright
protection and enforcement is vital for preserving access to
high-quality journalism for the communities our members serve.
Without this vital service, we risk a future of low-quality
information that harms the health of our democracy."
While the rule represents an important development for many
Alliance members, we will continue to work with the Copyright
Office to build on it in order to expand reasonable registration
options for other types of publisher content online.
Read the final rule here.
The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing
more than 2,200 news, magazine, and digital media organizations and
their multiplatform businesses in the
United States and globally. Alliance members include print
and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just
outside Washington, D.C., the
association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through
communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information
about the News/Media Alliance can be found
at http://www.newsmediaalliance.org.
Media Contact
Lindsey Loving, News/Media
Alliance, 571-366-1000,
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org, www.newsmediaalliance.org
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content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/newsmedia-alliance-applauds-the-copyright-office-for-modernizing-registration-of-online-news-content-protecting-investments-in-vital-public-services-302203227.html
SOURCE News/Media Alliance