The Unrealized Promise of the Next Great Copyright Act

U.S. Copyright Policy for the 21st Century

The Unrealized Promise of the Next Great Copyright Act provides a unique perspective on one of the most active periods of copyright policy discourse in the United States since the enactment of the Copyright Act of 1976. Using the then-Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante’s landmark speech of 2013 The Next Great Copyright Act as a catalyst, Christopher S. Reed documents and assesses the major issues confronting the U.S. copyright system today.

The book offers an inside view of the Copyright Office’s attempts at reform as part of a comprehensive account of the complex dynamics between key stakeholder communities, government and legislation. Chapters also explore relevant areas of copyright such as orphan works and mass digitization, online copyright enforcement, visual arts and music licensing, and demonstrate that despite previous difficulties the time is now ripe for an update to U.S. copyright law.

Learn More
{
This is an insightful and fascinating read for anyone interested in the history and future of copyright law. As a prolific photographer and attorney (as well as a former senior policy advisor for the U.S. Copyright Office), Christopher S. Reed writes from a unique, bird’s eye perspective on the public’s perception of copyright issues and legislation, and what the future of copyright policy may hold. Definitely a must read!

– Keith Kupferschmid
Copyright Alliance

{
Chris sets the stage to understand the current history of the Copyright Office and the Copyright Act. His book is interesting and insightful, creating a record that will be important to scholars and historians at a key time in our copyright development. For anyone teaching or wanting to know about current issues within the context of the last few years, this is the go-to book. Reed knows his stuff, and makes it understandable and readable too.

– Elizabeth Townsend Gard
Tulane Law School

Author | Lawyer | Speaker

Chris Reed

Chris Reed is a Los Angeles-based legal executive in the entertainment industry where he focuses on copyright matters, including enforcement, antipiracy, and copyright policy, as well as antitrust, First Amendment, and general commercial litigation. The author of two books and dozens of articles, and a frequent speaker, guest lecturer, and instructor, Chris is a recognized expert on business and legal issues confronting the modern media industry.

Before moving to Los Angeles, Chris served as the senior advisor for policy and special projects to the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office. Prior to his time at the Copyright Office, Chris worked as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Full Bio

Other Books

Copyright Workflow for Photographers

A practical, how-to guide to developing workflow best practices to protect, manage, and share digital images.

Read More

Getting Down to Business

Teaching business and entrepreneurship using the Autonomous Learner Model (grades 6-12).

Read More

Upcoming Events

October 28, 2019

Digital Media Licensing Association • Marina del Rey, CA

Join Chris Reed as he moderates a discussion on the state of the public domain with Jeff Goodman, CEO of Producers Library, and Rick Ray, CEO of DVArchive. Specifically, the discussion will explore new opportunities and challenges for those investing in productive uses of public domain content, particularly in light of recent developments in the European Union. For the first time in 20 years, content from 1923 — from Tarzan to Cecile B. Demille to the Charleston — will become part of the public domain. How can licensors protect their investment in restoring and protecting works of great historical and cultural significance while respecting copyright’s balance between the exclusive rights of authors and the law’s underlying objective of advancing and enriching the public good.
More Info

Coming Soon!

VIDEO TRAINING SERIES

Copyright Workflow: Video Edition

The long-awaited video companion to Chris’s first book, Copyright Workflow: Protecting, Managing, and Sharing Digital Images (Peachpit Press 2014) provides step-by-step guidance through the entire workflow, from image capture to registering the images with the U.S. Copyright Office, to monitoring for infringement and taking approrpiate enforcement action. Coming soon, exclusively from Artrepreneur.

updates | news | insights

The Blog

Using Music in Your Planetarium…Legally

June 9, 2019 | News & Updates

On July 28 at 3:30pm PDT (22:30 UTC), I'll be presenting a free "Zoominar" (a webinar, using Zoom) sponsored by the Pacific Planetarium Association entitled Using Music in Your Planetarium...Legally. Here's the official description: Many planetarians ignore the...

read more

I Was on a Podcast About…Quilting?

December 22, 2018 | News & Updates

I recently had the privilege of being featured on Dr. Elizabeth Townsend-Gard's research podcast Just Wanna' Quilt. Dr. Townsend-Gard is a law professor at Tulane where she heads up the Copyright Research Labs. The quilting podcast is one of the Lab's projects,...

read more

In Praise of Local Media

October 2, 2017 | Observations

Local media has become something of a laughing stock in recent years – too many commercials, too much fluff (or too much sensationalism), an artifact of mass media’s past. Millennials hate traditional media, the research says.

read more

The Media Business: A Reading List

July 9, 2017 | Resources

I’m often asked to recommend books and other resources about the media and entertainment industries — so often, that I thought it might be worth putting my thoughts together in written form. So, here it is. I’ll update this periodically as new resources become...

read more

Farewell, Craig Windham

February 29, 2016 | Observations

I was saddened and a bit shocked to hear today’s news that longtime NPR newscaster Craig Windham had passed away. He was only 66. I met Craig during my first internship at NPR in 2002. I was desperate to be a newscaster at the time and even though I wasn’t interning...

read more
Read More

c/o CSR Media, LLC
10736 Jefferson Boulevard, #1009
Culver City, California 90230

info [at] chrisreed.com
+1 720.236.3007
p
This is a personal website. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author alone and are not purported to be those of any employer, client, customer, or other affiliated entity, past or present. Unless expressly noted otherwise, the content on this site is neither sponsored by nor affiliated with any employer, client, customer, or associated entity.