"That this statute has nothing to do with the
constitutional purpose of “promot[ing] Progress” is clear from its very
title. The “Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and
Important Contributions to Society Act” (or CLASSICS) is as blatant a
gift without any public return as is conceivable. And it's not just a
gift through cash; it's a gift through a monopoly regulation of speech.
Archives with recordings of music from the 1930s or 1940s would now have
to clear permission before streaming their musical content even if the
underlying work was in the public domain.
Yet there is no registry of these owners anywhere. And while massive digital suppliers, such as Apple Music and Spotify,
could probably afford to carry the burden, no public or non-profit
website could even begin to bear the cost of assuring they were not
committing a crime. The act doesn’t harmonize American law with
international law. Indeed, it creates more disharmony. No other
jurisdiction creates a similar right anywhere. The act is simply a gift,
paid for by further weakening the ability of archivists to keep our
culture accessible. That’s why more than 40 professors of intellectual
property of all political stripes signed a letter this week asking Congress to reject the CLASSICS Act."
