Comments Submitted Pursuant to Sovereign Immunity Study: Notice and Request for Public Comment, 85 Fed. Reg. 34,252

The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is pleased to offer comments in response to the above-referenced U.S. Copyright Office Notice and Request for Public Comment, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Allen v. Cooper, 140 S.Ct. 994.

In 1990, Congress passed the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act (“CRCA”) to roll back state sovereign immunity for copyright infringement and promote fairness and uniformity in the law. On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the CRCA did not pass constitutional muster—either under Article I or the Fourteenth Amendment.

Even so, a majority of the Court provided guideposts for future legislation that, if adequately supported by a Congressional record detailing a pattern of unconstitutional infringement and the absence of adequate state law remedies, could achieve the CRCA’s intent as a valid exercise of Congressional power pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment. AIPLA believes there is adequate evidence to support abrogation of state sovereign immunity and offers the following comments in support of legislation that can succeed where the CRCA failed.

Please click on the attached document for the full submission.

Submitted September 2, 2020