Issue Position: Innovation and Technology - Copyright

Issue Position

Copyright Only two percent of published works between 55 and 75 years old continue to retain their commercial value. Yet those works will not enter the public domain for many years, meaning that 98 percent of those works are abandoned and unavailable. I strongly believe that a vibrant public domain benefits both copyright holders and the public as a whole.

Our Founding Fathers chose to grant a "limited monopoly" to creators in order to give them an economic incentive to create new works. But our Founding Fathers also recognized that society has an interest in the free flow of ideas, information and commerce. That is why copyright protection does not last forever.

The public domain has always been a vital source for creativity and innovation. But with the advent of the internet, it is now more important than ever. No longer are out-of-print books or forgotten songs automatically sentenced to the ash-heaps of our cultural history. The emergence of digital technology and the world wide web has created a way to reawaken these hidden treasures, and has empowered more and more of us to become creators in our own right.

I'll continue working to ensure that the interests of copyright holders and those of the general public are balanced to the benefit of all.

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