Copyright Office Backs Congress Bid to Curb State Infringement

Infringement by state actors represents a “legitimate concern” for copyright holders and addressing it would be “worthy of congressional action,” the Copyright Office said in a report Tuesday.

Senate intellectual property subcommittee leaders requested reports on state infringement of intellectual property from the Copyright Office and the Patent and Trademark Office after a Supreme Court ruling found North Carolina immune from a copyright suit. The ruling over underwater footage of Blackbeard’s pirate ship found a law making states liable for copyright infringement unconstitutional.

The court had previously ruled similarly on laws abridging sovereign immunity for patent and trademark infringement. The ...