Law to Improve Copyright Office Functions Signed

by Janette Spencer-Davis, Legal Editor, CCH Copyright Law Reports   

The "Copyright Cleanup, Clarification, and Corrections Act of 2010" (S. 3689) was signed by the President on December 9, 2010, and became Public Law 111-295. The purpose of the law is to clarify, improve, and correct the laws relating to copyrights. It amends copyright law to promote the use of electronic information by the Copyright Office, authorize judicial review of regulations issued by Copyright Royal Judges, and make various clarifying and technical changes. The provisions of the bill fall into three categories: those designed to make the Office's operations more efficient; those designed to clarify issues of copyright law made unclear either by recent court decisions or by ambiguities in the statute; and those that are technical.

Text of the law, which became effective immediately, will be updated in an upcoming Report.