Katharine Trendacosta

As Copyright Week comes to a close, it’s worth remembering why we have in it January. Twelve years ago, a diverse coalition of internet users, websites, and public interest activists took to the internet to protest SOPA/PIPA, proposed laws that would have, among other things, blocked access to websites if they were alleged to be used for copyright infringement. More than a decade on, there still is no way to do this without causing irreparable harm to legal online expression.

As Copyright Week comes to a close, it’s worth remembering why we have in it January. Twelve years ago, a diverse coalition of internet users, websites, and public interest activists took to the internet to protest SOPA/PIPA, proposed laws that would have, among other things, blocked access to websites if they were alleged to be used for copyright infringement. More than a decade on, there still is no way to do this without causing irreparable harm to legal online expression.

We continue to fight for a version of copyright that truly serves the public interest. And so, every year, EFF and a number of diverse organizations participate in Copyright Week. Each year, we pick five copyright issues to highlight and promote a set of principles that should guide copyright law and policy. This year’s issues are:

Stop us if you’ve heard these: piracy is driving artists out of business. The reason they are starving is because no one pays for things, just illegally downloads them. You wouldn’t steal a car. These arguments are old and being dragged back out to get support for rules that would strangle online...

Reproductive justice and safe access to abortion, like so many other aspects of managing our healthcare, is fundamentally tied to our digital lives. With the decision of Dobbs v. Jackson to overturn the protections that Roe v. Wade offered for people seeking abortion healthcare, what was benign data…

Right now, the U.S. Copyright Office is collecting information on the use of “standard technical measures” to address copyright infringement, as part of a longer effort that, we fear, will lead to filtering mandates.The Copyright Office is also holding a plenary session on February 22, to hear from.…

Right now, the U.S. Copyright Office is collecting information on the use of “standard technical measures” to address copyright infringement, as part of a longer effort that, we fear, will lead to filtering mandates.The Copyright Office is also holding a plenary session on February 22, to hear from.…

San Francisco—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today launched Tracking Global Online Censorship, a website project that provides comprehensive, in-depth information about how and why social media platforms remove users’ posts, how users can appeal these take down decisions, and how the...

In 2019, for the first time in 20 years, U.S. copyright law allowed formerly copyrighted works to join the public domain. Works in the public domain are no longer under copyright, and anyone can republish or use those works in whatever way they want. The public domain is the default home of all creative endeavors because culture isn’t owned by any single person or corporation—it’s shared.

In 2019, for the first time in 20 years, U.S. copyright law allowed formerly copyrighted works to join the public domain. Works in the public domain are no longer under copyright, and anyone can republish or use those works in whatever way they want. The public domain is the default home of all creative endeavors because culture isn’t owned by any single person or corporation—it’s shared.