Marybeth Peters: Renaissance Woman of Copyright; New York City Bar Association Podcasts, December 13, 2023

New York City Bar Association Podcasts; Marybeth Peters: Renaissance Woman of Copyright

"Lawyer. Leader. Public Servant. Trailblazer. Friend.

Marybeth Peters, the second-longest serving Register of Copyrights (1994 - 2010), died on September 29, 2022, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 83. With her passing, Register Peters left behind a lasting and far-reaching legacy in her storied 40-plus year career as a distinguished attorney, respected copyright law expert, and the director of the U.S. Copyright Office, where she helped shape and implement critical new laws, including the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act among others. In addition, Register Peters was remembered as a mentor, teacher, and friend who touched the lives of everyone around her with grace and her unforgettable laugh.

Presented by the New York City Bar Copyright and Literary Property Committee, committee member Theodora Fleurant, a trademark attorney based in New York City, and Jose Landivar, an Associate at Coates IP, lead an unforgettable series of conversations with some of the people closest to Register Peters to look back on her life and legacy, including:

•	Shira Perlmutter, the current Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office
•	Maria Pallante, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers who formerly served as the 12th Register of Copyrights
•	Richard Dannay, Counsel at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C.
•	Eric Schwartz, Partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, and former Acting General Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor to the Register of Copyrights
•	David Carson, current Copyright Office Claims Officer who, formerly served as head of the Copyright Policy Team in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and as General Counsel of the U.S. Copyright Office

This podcast paints a fascinating portrait of a leading U.S. and international copyright law expert. It seeks to inspire listeners with lessons in leadership, courage, innovation, and dedicated public service.

This podcast would not have been possible without the support of the U.S. Copyright Office (https://www.copyright.gov/) and audio provided by the Copyright Clearance Center.

Photo: Courtesy of the U.S. Copyright Office.

Access a transcript of this episode here: https://bityl.co/MvSf"

Obituary: Marybeth Peters, Former Register of Copyrights; Publishers Weekly, September 30, 2022

Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly; Obituary: Marybeth Peters, Former Register of Copyrights

"Marybeth Peters, who served as the U.S. Register of Copyrights from 1994 to 2010, died on September 29. She was 83.

Peters spent her career working in the copyright field, and was considered a leading expert on both international and domestic copyright issues. Prior to her appointment as Register of Copyrights, Peters held a variety of positions in the copyright office. During her time there, Peters played a key role in adapting copyright to the digital age, including helping to implement both the 1976 Copyright Act and the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The controversial Google Book Search lawsuit also took place during her tenure, and Peters was critical of the proposed settlement, arguing that it was at odds with the law. The settlement was eventually rejected by Judge Denny Chin."

Celebrating the Women Leading the Copyright Office; Library of Congress: Copyright Creativity At Work Blog, March 25, 2020

Alison Hall, Library of Congress: Copyright Creativity At Work Blog; Celebrating the Women Leading the Copyright Office

"To celebrate Women’s History Month, I wanted to write about the five women who have served (and are serving) as leaders of the U.S. Copyright Office. Women have led this Office consecutively since November 1993, and their accomplishments are nothing short of incredible. These five lawyers (who all attended either Columbia Law School or George Washington Law) have contributed over 100 years of public service to the Copyright Office, counting all their roles. Here is just a snapshot of their accomplishments and contributions to copyright."

Is it time for term limits for the Copyright Office's Register?; ArsTechnica.com, 12/7/10

Matthew Lasar, ArsTechnica.com; Is it time for term limits for the Copyright Office's Register?:

""The discussions surrounding copyright policy impact more constituencies than ever before," A Copyright Office for the 21st Century recommends. All the more reason for the Register to have a "nuanced understanding" of all the stakeholders affected by copyright rules.

"Unfortunately, each year that the Register is head of the Copyright Office makes it harder to maintain that type of connection," PK notes. "Furthermore, it increases the possibility that he or she will favor one or more existing stakeholders groups over newly emergent ones. Effective policy making requires the regular infusion of new blood and new ideas.""

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/12/is-it-time-for-term-limits-for-the-copyright-offices-register.ars

Chinese Authors Object to Google’s Book Scanning; New York Times, 10/30/09

Sharon LaFraniere, New York Times; Chinese Authors Object to Google’s Book Scanning:

"Two Chinese writers’ groups claim that Google has scanned Chinese works into an electronic database in violation of international copyright standards. The organizations are urging China’s authors to step forward and defend their rights.

“Google has seriously violated the copyrights of Chinese authors. That is an undeniable fact,” Chen Qirong, a spokesperson for the China Writers’ Association, said by telephone. The group says it represents nearly 9,000 writers.

Google has sent a representative to Beijing to meet on Monday with officials of the China Written Works Copyright Society, which manages Chinese copyrights. The company insists it has fully complied with copyright protections...

“We take the view, backed up by international copyright law, that no copyright is violated in this process since the amount of text displayed is so small and it’s purely for information,” said Courtney Hohne, a Google spokeswoman, in an phone interview from Singapore. “In fact, it’s comparable to a quotation from a book in a review or our Web search results, both of which are perfectly legal.” Ms. Hohne said it is virtually impossible for Google to discover who holds the rights to all of the millions of books on library shelves. Waiting for copyright holders to surface would doom any effort to create a comprehensive electronic index, she said. If a copyright holder does object, Google removes the snippets or even all reference to the book from the search engine, she said.

The Chinese groups see it differently. “It is as you have something nice in your living room and Google takes it and puts it in its living room,” said Zhang Hongbo, deputy director general of the Chinese copyright society. “We are definitely opposed to using our works without our permission.”...

Marybeth Peters, the top copyright official in the United States, told Congress in September that the settlement could put “diplomatic stress” on the government because it would affect foreign authors whose rights are protected by international treaties. The governments of France and Germany formally oppose the deal."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/technology/internet/31google.html

Amazon Scoffs at Google’s Offer to Share Book Search Sales; Wired, 9/10/09

Ryan Singel, Wired; Amazon Scoffs at Google’s Offer to Share Book Search Sales:

"The Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters went even further than Amazon, accusing the courts of usurping Congress and that the agreement made a “mockery of Article 1 of the Constitution.”

“Key parts of the settlement are fundamentally at odds with the law and impinge on the rights of authors,” Peters said.

In particular, the settlement lets Google do more with scanned books than just use them in search results and to sell them, making the settlement license overly broad.

Such licenses should be given out only by Congress, Peters argued.

But Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California) said the deal should be approved, calling it a “rare truce in the copyright wars.”

Moreover, Congress was to blame for the whole mess anyhow, by failing to fix the orphan book issue in recent years.

Lofgren also suggested that Congress simply reduce the number of books still in copyright by repealing the 1998 Sony Bono Copyright Extension Act, which added extended copyright terms for 20 years, reportedly to keep Mickey Mouse from falling into the public domain.

Thanks to the act, no books will go into the public domain in the United States automatically until 2019."

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/09/amazon-google-book-search-sales/

Copyright Office Assails Google’s Settlement on Digital Books; New York Times, 9/11/09

Miguel Helft, New York Times; Copyright Office Assails Google’s Settlement on Digital Books:

"The nation’s top copyright official made a blistering attack Thursday on a controversial legal settlement that would let Google create a huge online library and bookstore.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Marybeth Peters, the United States register of copyrights, said the settlement between Google and groups representing authors and publishers amounted to an end-run around copyright law that would wrest control of books from authors and other right holders.

Ms. Peters, the first government official to address the settlement in detail, said it would allow Google to profit from the work of others without prior consent and that it could put “diplomatic stress” on the United States because it affected foreign authors whose rights are protected by international treaties.

But David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, who also testified at the hearing, defended the agreement saying it let authors retain control of their books and would expand access to millions of out-of-print books that are largely hidden in libraries."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/technology/internet/11books.html?scp=2&sq=google&st=cse

Congress to Weigh Google Books Settlement; New York Times, 9/9/09

Miguel Helft via New York Times; Congress to Weigh Google Books Settlement:

"On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled Competition and Commerce in Digital Books that will be all about the landmark settlement of the class action filed by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers against Google in 2005.

Although the hearing is likely to attract some attention, the voice that settlement watchers are most eager to hear is that of the Justice Department, whose lawyers are investigating whether the agreement violates antitrust law. The Justice Department has until Sept. 18 to file its views with the court.

The debate Thursday is certain to be lively, with Google’s top lawyer, David Drummond, squaring off against Amazon’s top public policy executive, Paul Misener. Other speakers include Paul Aiken of the Authors Guild, Marc Mauer of the National Federation of the Blind and David Balto of the Center for American Progress, who support the deal.

Others witnesses are likely to cast a more skeptical eye on the agreement, including John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit that has opposed the agreement; Randall Picker, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School who has raised antitrust concerns; and Marybeth Peters, the head of the United States Copyright Office, who has also raised questions about the deal."

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/congress-to-weigh-google-books-settlement/?hpw

Register of Copyrights Not Asked by Congress To Weigh in on Google Book Search?, Library Journal, 3/20/09

Via Library Journal: Register of Copyrights Not Asked by Congress To Weigh in on Google Book Search?:

"Out of last Friday's all-day Columbia University conference on Google Book Search came this interesting little tidbit: Register of Copyrights Mary Beth Peters had recommended against the Library of Congress participating in Google’s initial Library Partners program, because she wasn’t sure that Google’s indexing of copyrighted books was a fair use.

That in and of itself is not a shocker—a lot of experts are still torn over whether the plan was indeed a fair use. But as Cornell University’s Peter Hirtle noted, the real surprise is that Congress, well, just didn’t seem to care about the program.

“Most disturbing of all was Peters’s admission that not one member of Congress has asked the Copyright Office to comment on the settlement," Hirtle blogged “even though it may fundamentally change how Americans can access and use copyrighted information.”

Certainly, that insight has to make one wonder how much Congress cares about the promotion of progress at the bedrock of copyright law. Last year, Congress failed to pass orphan works legislation but passed a draconian bill stiffening infringement penalties. And while sitting out the potentially momentous discussion over copyright as raised by Google Book Search, Congress is agian considering the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act—controversial legislation that would bar public access to research funded by taxpayers, and would undo the NIH’s access policy, enacted last year.

Notably, Peters was also not asked to testify at a hearing on the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act during a congressional hearing last year—but, curiously, a former register of copyright, Ralph Oman was asked, and did testify. Oman told lawmakers that the public access policies, like the NIH’s, would harm publishers and gut copyright."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6645344.html

The Importance of Orphan Works Legislation - U.S. Copyright Office, 9/25/08

The Importance of Orphan Works Legislation:
By Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights:
"Legislation is pending in Congress that would ease the “orphan works” problem....Based on the recommendation of my office, as published in our 2006 Report on Orphan Works, the legislation would allow good-faith users of copyrighted content to move forward in cases where they wish to license a use but cannot locate the copyright owner after a diligent search...The problem is pervasive. Our study recounts the challenges that publishers, film makers, museums, libraries, universities, and private citizens, among others, have had in managing risk and liability when a copyright owner cannot be identified or located..."
http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/