US Copyright Office Reports: WIPO Internet Treaties Require No Copyright Act Amendment to Protect Exclusive “Making Available” Rights

Has the United States lived up to its obligations under the WIPO Internet Treaties to protect the exclusive “making available” right of copyright owners? 

Some would argue no, and that Congress should amend the U.S. Copyright Act.  Others would argue that the exclusive rights provisions in Section 106 of the Copyright Act are adequate.

In Internet copyright infringement litigation, this issue has arisen in the context of a plaintiff’s evidentiary burden of proof and whether the “making available” right requires a plaintiff to prove that an infringing work was simply uploaded to the Internet, or both uploaded and downloaded.  Court cases have been inconsistent.

By way of background, when the Internet was relatively new and growing rapidly in the mid-1990s, the international copyright community wanted to ensure adequate copyright protection in the new medium.  Toward that goal, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and its member states (including the United States) entered into the WIPO Internet Treaties, which consist of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). 

The treaties required the U.S. and other member states to provide a “making available” right that gives copyright owners the exclusive right to authorize the on-demand transmission of their works and sound recordings to the public (e.g., via the Internet).  The treaties articulate the exclusive “making available” right as follows:

WCT Art. 8	Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 11(1)(ii), 11bis(1)(i) and (ii), 11ter(1)(ii), 14(1)(ii) and 14bis(1) of the Berne Convention, authors of literary and artistic works shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorising any communication to the public of their works, by wire or wireless means, including the making available to the public of their works in such a way that members of the public may access these works from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.
WPPT Art. 10	Performers shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorising the making available to the public of their performances fixed in phonograms, by wire or wireless means, in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.
WPPT Art. 14	Producers of phonograms shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorising the making available to the public of their phonograms, by wire or wireless means, in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.

Congress did not amend the Copyright Act to specifically refer to the “making available” right, instead assuming that the exclusive rights provisions in Section 106 of the Copyright Act adequately protect the right.

The Supreme Court in American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc., 573 U.S. __, 134 S.Ct. 2498 (2014), confirmed that the public performance right encompasses the transmission of copyright works to the public through individualized streams.  However, in the context of merely offering access to copyright content, some district courts questioned the existence of the “making available” right under U.S. law, declining to recognize a cause of action where copyright owners are unable to prove that downloads or receipt occurred.  Other courts simply rejected the “making available” right without acknowledging or discussing the international obligations of the United States under the WIPO Internet Treaties.  Appellate courts have not conclusively resolved the issues in cases involving works in digital format, although some appellate decisions have held that distribution does not necessarily require an actual transfer of copies in the context of a library offering physical copies of a work to the public.

In December 2013, Congress asked the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) to weigh in on the debate.  Congress specifically requested feedback on the following issues: (1) how the existing bundle of exclusive rights under Title 17 covers the “making available” right in the context of digital on-demand transmissions such as peer-to-peer networks, streaming services, and music downloads, as well as more broadly in the digital environment; (2) how foreign laws have interpreted and implemented the relevant provisions of the WIPO Internet Treaties; and (3) the feasibility and necessity of amending U.S. law to strengthen or clarify the law in this area.

In response, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) released The Making Available Right in the United States: A Report of the Register of Copyrights on February 23, 2016.  The report concludes that the treaties require no Copyright Act amendment, but recommends that Congress continue to monitor case law and offers suggestions if Congress chooses to amend the law.

The report is available at HERE.