Statement of the Honorable Howard L. Berman

Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property

Hearing on the Copyright Office Report under Section 104 of the DMCA

December 13, 2001

Mr. Chairman,

I won’t test your patience today with a lengthy statement. I just have a few comments.

First, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. I appreciate their willingness to appear here - some for the second day in a row - and share their expertise and thoughts with us.

Second, I want to share a few thoughts inspired by Mr. Conyers’ comments yesterday.

The digital music debate that has raged for the past few years, both here in Congress, in the press, and in the marketplace, has often been misdirected. It usually plays out as different industries arguing about how much they will have to pay to use copyrighted works; whether there is adequate competition in the markets that utilize copyrighted works; and whether certain industries feel copyright laws impair their ability to bring new technologies to market.

Consistently lost in this debate are the artists over whose rights everyone is arguing. The men and women who pour their hearts and souls, days and nights, their life savings and economic security into a creative dream. Why do creators - the vast majority unheralded and unknown - take these great emotional, financial, and sometimes physical risks to write a book, create a song, record music, code a software program, or make a film?

In no small measure, because they love to do so and are driven to create. But also in no small measure because they hope, against all odds, that they will be able to support themselves, and even prosper, by creating.

It is the works and property of these creators that others end up arguing they should be able to exploit, use for free, benefit from, or take at a government rate. It is the rights of these creators - their copyrights - that others want to ignore, downplay, or belittle to advantage their industry.

Clearly, the efficient utilization of property, the development of new technology, the creation of economic activity, and the satisfaction of consumers are all very important goals, and are goal consistent with the protection of copyrights. But in pursuit of these goals, Congress should remain equally focused on the need to nurture artists; to exhalt them; to ensure they thrive, not just survive.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.