Eagles songwriter Don Henley has asked Congress on June 2nd to protect artists against online pirating, wading into a copyright fight pitting Hollywood and the recording industry against big tech platforms like Google’s YouTube, reports Fox News.
Henley testified online from his home before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee weighing possible changes to a 1998 copyright law. The law allows holders of copyrighted material to formally ask parties they believe have taken their content without permission to remove it. The parties can dispute the claim. If they comply promptly with the request, there are no legal consequences. Otherwise, they may be subject to criminal penalties.
Henley said the law is weak and needs to be changed to make it more effective in stopping online piracy…
…In the debate over online pirating, the subcommittee chairman, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., made his leanings clear. He said creative industries have been “absolutely decimated” by the economic fallout of the pandemic as well as the online pirating of copyrighted material that hasn’t slowed down…
…Copyright holders maintain that some network operators have manipulated Internet-provider addresses in a way to make other networks appear responsible for the file-sharing. Entertainment industries have been pushing tech platforms to do more themselves to police content that violates copyright.
On the other side, users of the content have accused copyright holders of alleging infringement where it doesn’t exist. Internet companies say they have worked actively with the creative industries to block access to illegal content and protect the copyrights.
Read more at Fox News.
3 Responses
Go get em’ Don. Wait….?! We need Lars now!!
I do think songwriters should be compensated for their work. If I like someones music, i’ll pay for it. People are so used to getting it for free now, they sometimes think they’re supporting the songwriter simply by listening to it.
I think everyone who participated in the creation of the song – lyrics and music should be compensated.
If the record industry was more forward thinking, they would have been able to better handle the streaming/digital revolution so that everyone benefitted. Unfortunately, most dropped the ball.
Side Note: Hope everyone is safe during this messed up time. Dana, when does NY pull the plug on DiBlasio? It is like we are living in the Twilight Zone.