Statement from ICLE Senior Policy Counsel Neil Turkewitz on the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017

WASHINGTON — The following is a statement from Neil Turkewitz, Senior Policy Counsel, Intellectual Property and the Digital Economy at the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) on the introduction of H.R. 1695, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017:

“ICLE applauds the introduction in the House of the bipartisan Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act, making the Register of Copyrights a position nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

“As we noted in recent comments to the House Judiciary Committee:

It is time, or past time, to establish the proper foundations for the operation of the Copyright Office in light of its economic and cultural significance. It is also past time to rely on legacy processes and traditions that ill serve US interests in a well-functioning and modern copyright system.

“The legislation introduced today will go a long way towards establishing a neutral administrator of the nation’s copyright registration system, and we wholeheartedly support it.”

About ICLE:

ICLE is a non-profit, non-partisan research center with a global network of over 50 affiliated scholars. ICLE develops and disseminates targeted academic analysis to build the legal and economic foundation for regulatory policies that allow innovation to flourish.