FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Katie Barrows
Communications Manager
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2019 – On Sept. 17, 2019, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrod Nadler (D-NY) and Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-GA) sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressing concern about the inclusion of language mirroring Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) in the revised North American Free Trade Agreement (also known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.)

Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning issued the following statement regarding the Nadler-Collins letter:

“DPE commends Chairman Nadler and Ranking Member Collins for speaking up to help ensure creative professionals can earn a fair return on their work.

Members of DPE unions in the arts, entertainment, and media industries depend on the sale of legitimate content for fair compensation. Stolen or otherwise illegitimate content cuts into the revenues that go toward creative professionals’ wages, health care, and retirement security.

Unfortunately, outdated and overbroad copyright safe harbor provisions in U.S. law enable tech companies to profit off stolen and otherwise unauthorized creative content posted on their websites and platforms.

Chairman Nadler and Ranking Member Collins are right to express their concern with Trade Ambassador Lighthizer about the incorporation of overbroad, outdated copyright safe harbor provisions in the revised North American Free Trade Agreement (also known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.) Exporting these bad policies to other countries through their inclusion in trade agreements, including the announced U.S.-Japan agreement and others currently being negotiated, will only further hurt creative professionals.

The people who earn their livings imagining, developing, designing, and giving life to creative works need strong copyright protections appropriate for today’s digital age. The request of Chairman Nadler and Ranking Member Collins to allow the input of copyright experts from all perspectives helps get us there.”

About DPE

The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.