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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 4 June 2020
Eagles' Don Henley asks Congress to change copyright law

By MARCY GORDON all time in the 1970s.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ea- The other senators who
gles songwriter Don Henley attended the hearing,
urged Congress on Tues- Democrats Chris Coons
day to "Take It to the Limit" of Delaware and Richard
to protect artists against Blumenthal of Connecti-
online pirating, wading into cut, expressed support for
a copyright fight pitting Hol- changes to update the
lywood and the recording copyright law.
industry against big tech Copyright holders maintain
platforms like Google's You- that some network opera-
Tube. tors have manipulated in-
The blockbuster hitmaker ternet-provider addresses
of the 1970s testified on- in a way to make other
line from his home before networks appear respon-
a Senate Judiciary sub- sible for the file-sharing.
committee weighing pos- Entertainment industries
sible changes to a 1998 have been pushing tech
copyright law. The law al- platforms to do more them-
selves to police content
that violates copyright.
On the other side, users of
the content have accused
In this Oct. 25, 2017 file photo, artist Don Henley performs at "All In For The Gambler: Kenny Rogers' copyright holders of alleg-
Farewell Concert Celebration" at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. ing infringement where
Associated Press it doesn't exist. Internet
companies say they have
lows holders of copyright- takedown notices sent, for intended to chip away at worked actively with the
ed material to formally ask every link taken down, "a the tech platforms' legal creative industries to block
parties they believe have dozen more pop up in its shield for speech content access to illegal content
taken their content with- place," he said. The system they carry. and protect the copyrights.
out permission to remove "still allows Big Tech to rake In the debate over online Jonathan Berroya, interim
it. The parties can dispute in revenue" after repeated pirating, the subcommittee president and CEO of the
the claim. If they comply copyright infringements, chairman, Sen. Thom Tillis, major trade group Internet
promptly with the request, Henley said. R-N.C., made his leanings Association, testified that
there are no legal conse- The copyright battle is be- clear. He said creative in- the "overwhelming major-
quences. Otherwise, they ing spotlighted in Congress dustries have been "abso- ity" of copyright infringe-
may be subject to criminal at a time when U.S. tech lutely decimated" by the ment takes place on for-
penalties. giants are in an escalating economic fallout of the eign tech platforms outside
Henley said the law is weak feud with President Don- pandemic as well as on- the reach of U.S. law and
and needs to be changed ald Trump and Republican line pirating of copyrighted is not conducted by U.S.
to make it more effective in lawmakers, who accuse material that hasn't slowed companies.
stopping online piracy. platforms such as Twitter, down. Tech companies them-
The so-called "notice and Google and Facebook of "Piracy has become eas- selves are in a golden age
takedown" system under suppressing conservative ier and faster and much, of creating content and in-
the copyright law is used by viewpoints. The dispute much more common," Tillis vesting in others' projects,
the movie and recording boiled over last week when said. "The current system is Berroya said.
industries, entertainment Twitter attached warnings failing and it's failing badly." They do not want to profit
software makers and book to some of Trump's tweets, He confided that the first from illegally taken con-
authors to pursue tech plat- on mail-in voting and the live music performance he tent, he said. Given the
forms, universities and other use of force against people saw, when he lived in Nash- huge scale of piracy, tech
facilitators of file-sharing. protesting the police killing ville, was the Eagles. The platforms and the enter-
Henley called the copyright of George Floyd. Trump, rock group, with Henley as tainment industries need
law "a relic of a MySpace who is Twitter's most promi- singer, drummer and song- to pool their resources and
era in a TikTok world." With nent user, responded by writer, produced some of use new technology to
hundreds of millions of issuing an executive order the best-selling albums of identify violations.’q
Theater master classes for youth

attract Broadway talent

By MARK KENNEDY being a young songwriter signed on to give master director Stephen Brackett,
NEW YORK (AP) — Imagine and getting tips from a cre- classes and advise fledg- composer Joe Iconis, two-
ative team who really know ling artists as a way to ben- time Tony winner Donna
SPECIAL FATHER’S DAY how to construct a tune. efit the nonprofit Theater- Murphy and Broadway
100 % LeaTher After all, they wrote "Let It WorksUSA. musical director Kimberly
Walets (h&M) awg.75.95 now Go." Joining the Oscar- and Grigsby are also involved.
handbags, rugtas, portfolios The husband-and-wife Tony-winners for virtual Anderson-Lopez and Lo-
sport & elegants for (h&M) songwriting duo of Kristen tutorials are Tony award- pez said they leapt at the
awg.140 -105 now belts Anderson-Lopez and Bob- winning Broadway director chance to help their old
Cell: 560 3451 by Lopez are just some of Jerry Zaks and Tony-nomi- employer and raise spirits of
the luminaries who have nee Judy Kuhn. Broadway their young students. q